In the four years since he earned his sergeant's stripes, young Richard Sharpe has led a relatively peaceful existence. But Sharpe's reverie ends when he barely survives a murderous act of treason by a bitter English officer who has joined the mercenary forces of the Mahratta confederation, determined to drive the British from the continent. Vowing to hunt down the turncoat, Sharpe plunges headlong into the white-hot battle of Assaye alongside Sir Arthur Wellesley – the future of Duke of Wellington – in the fiercest fight of his career. is a riveting story of betrayal and revenge that showcases the deft blend of suspenseful military adventure and sweeping historical detail that has made Bernard Corwell's books bestsellers around the world.