It is 1857. Colonial India is a simmering volcano of nationalism about to erupt and swamp the Indian subcontinent in a fire from hell. Ex-army surgeon Peter Campbell and his wife Alice, in India on their honeymoon, have no idea that they are about to be swept up in the chaos. Meanwhile Ian Steele, known to all as Captain Samuel Forbes, is fighting for Queen and country in Persia, his old friends Sergeant Conan Curry and Corporal Owen Williams by his side. A world away, the real Samuel Forbes is planning to return to London - with potentially disastrous consequences for Samuel and Ian both. Then Ian is posted to India, but not before a brief return to England and a reunion with the woman he loves. In India he renews his friendship with Peter Campbell, and discovers that Alice has taken on a most unlikely role. Together they face the enemy and the terrible deprivations of war - and then Ian receives news from London that crushes all his hopes. In this second instalment of Peter Watt's new series, Captain Ian Steele must guard against enemies both on the battlefront and closer to home, including one from a most unexpected quarter.