It is 1805 and Ensign Richard Sharpe is on his way home from India. The voyage should be a period of rest buthis ship is riven with treachery and threatened by a formidable French warship, the Revenant, which is terrorizing British shipping in the Indian Ocean. An old opponent of Sharpes is aboard his ship, and the voyage is further disturbed by the Lady Grace Hale, apparently as unreachable as she is beautiful.Sharpe also has friends, notably a captain of the Royal Navy who is hunting the Reveiianf and who rescues Sharpe when all seems lost. The hunt turns into a stern chase as the French warship races home, carrying a treaty that could ignite India into a new war against the British. When the Revenant encounters the combined French and Spanish fleets off Cadiz it seems that Sharpes enemies have found safety, even as his enemies on board appear to have him trapped.Yet over the horizon is another fleet, led by Nelson, and Sharpe s revenge will come a calm October day off Cape Trafalgar