Major Richard Sharpe's regiment is in deadly danger. However, this threat does not come from the French enemy, but from the bureaucrats in Whitehall. Sharpe waits in Spain in vain for reinforcements for his regiment. Determined to save his men from certain doom, he returns to England to seek help. But there, he encounters a nest of high-ranking traitors and faces a struggle that will be tougher than any battles he has ever fought.