The invasion of France is under way and, in one of the most dangerous missions of his career, Major Richard Sharpe, with a small force of riflemen, is to capture a fortress and secure a landing on the French coast Through an incompetent commander and the work of his old enemy, the French spymaster Pierre Duclos, Sharpe finds himself abandoned in the heart of enemy territory His only hope of rescue is an American privateer, a man with no love for the British invaders