Set against the evocative backdrop of India in the first half of the 19th century, this novel marks the welcome return of Matthew Hervey and the 6th Light Dragons in their fourteenth adventure in this bestselling series.

'Matthew Hervey is as splendid a hero as ever sprang from an author's pen' The Times

Following the 6th Light Dragoons' successful campaign in the state of Coorg and the deposition of its deranged Rajah, Lieutenant-Colonel Matthew Hervey is looking forward to a few months' respite for his regiment, for himself and his family. Indeed, with his reputation restored, he's rarely felt so content. Alas, such tranquillity is not to last.

India's governor-general believes Hervey is just the man to lead a force against the Thuggee and Dacoity gangs whose increasingly vicious attacks threaten not only the stability of a number of friendly princely states but also, of course, the East India Company's interests in the sub-continent.

And so Hervey reluctantly leads the Sixth into the field once more. It's a mission that will prove infinitely more complex, brutal and bloody than anyone predicted. For Hervey has taken the first steps on the path towards the conflagration history calls the Indian Mutiny . . .

'Mallinson's series of early 19th-century military adventures are even better than Patrick O'Brian's naval equivalent . . . Faithful period detail. Rattling pace. Loveable characters' A. N. Wilson

'Thrilling . . . richly engaging, old-fashioned storytelling' Daily Mail