The men of Britain's army in 1809 were criminals and drunks, brutalised and diseased, and the finest infantry in the world. Sharpe is one of them. Honourable in his own way, utterly ruthless, he is a soldier who never acknowledges defeat.

Sharpe's return from India to London to join the newly formed Green Jackets is cut short. His voyage home includes a shipwreck & rescue by the Royal Navy. His rescuers are sent to join the fleet at Trafalgar and Sharpe is forced to take part.

Newly promoted, Major Richard Sharpe leads his small force into the biting cold of the winter mountains, his task to rescue the well-born women held hostage by a rabble of deserters.

In hostile country, surrounded by enemies, Richard Sharpe faces the most desperate challenge of his military career - for between his men and the safety of Wellington's lines lies the fortress city of Almeida, now besieged by Napoleon's army.

Sharpe's men are at risk of being wiped out - not by the enemy but by bureaucrats in Whitehall. There is rumour of fresh recruits being collected in England and Sharpe must go home to find them. Far from finding troops of brave and eager soldiers, Sharpe uncovers a nest of traitors, each determined to destroy Sharpe's regiment.

The British invasion of France is under way, and the Navy has called upon the services of Major Richard Sharpe. He hand picks a team of trusted men to help him in one of the most dangerous missions of his career - to capture a fortress and secure a landing on the French coast.