It is December 1803, and Richard Sharpe is no an officer in Sir Arthur Wellesleys army which is seeking to end the Mahratta War. Relegated to a tedious job in the baggage train, Sharpe discovers a treason conjured up by his old enemy, Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill, but in uncovering this Sharpe finds himself alone and under dreadful threat. He falls back on his fighting abil It is December 1803, and Richard Sharpe is no an officer in Sir Arthur Wellesleys army which is seeking to end the Mahratta War. Relegated to a tedious job in the baggage train, Sharpe discovers a treason conjured up by his old enemy, Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill, but in uncovering this Sharpe finds himself alone and under dreadful threat. He falls back on his fighting ability to regain his confidence an his treasure, the jewels of the Tippoo Sultan, which have been stolen from him. The search for revenge on the men who robbed him takes him to Gawilghur, a seemingly impregnable fortress poised high above the Deccan Plain. Bolstering his defences is the renegade Englishman, William Dodd, who escaped from Sharpe in Sharpes Triumph . Dodd is confident that no redcoat can reach him, but Sharpe is desperate and so he joins Wellesleys troops as they surge across the neck of land that leads to the breaches. There, in the horror of Gawilghurs ravine, dominated by walls and guns, he will fight as he has never fought before. THE BATTLE SCENES SPRING FROM THE PAGE LIKE A PUFF OF MUSKET SMOKE - SUNDAY TIMES