It is 1808 and Napoleon appears all-powerful as Spain and Portugal lie at his feet. Summoned from his South Yorkshire home of Tollgate, Major Foulkes looks forward to combating the French under the command of Sir John Moore. His vivacious wife, Harriet, however has other plans involving the campaign. So it is, that she and other Tollgate citiizens (including the villainous John Harker) also travel to Spain, joining the army's baggage train. Nearby too, is the dashing Tony Harte, a warm acquaintance of Harriet's from the Brighton social scene... Arthur Eaglestone's gripping panorama of Regency England abroad and at war, authentically evokes the worlds of generals and privates, men and women, citizens and mercenaries who are brought together and driven apart by the pain, trials and camaraderie of the Peninsular War. Admirers of writers including Tolstoy, Patrick O'Brien, Bernard Cornwell and Walter Scott will appreciate an epic story, uncommonly well told, from a polished and mature novelist.