Richard Sharpe is delighted when, after long months of patrolling duties, he and his regiment are summoned north by Wellington. But his new mission is desperate and dangerous: to go behind enemy lines to recover the gold, vital to the success of the war.The treasure is in the possession of a powerful guerrilla leader, feared by ally and enemy alike. And he has a particular reason not to co-operate with Sharpe - the man who has stolen his woman.