Spain, 1811. Sharpe is ordered to train the Real Compañía Irlandesa, a ceremonial Irish battalion in Spanish service, while guarding the isolated fort of San Isidro. A French brigade commanded by the ruthless General Loup attacks the position and threatens both the battalion and the alliance between Britain and Spain. Sharpe’s personal conflict with Loup continues into the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro.
The Real Compania Irlandesa gives Sharpe soldiers whose nominal loyalty cannot be taken for granted, while Loup deliberately exploits weakness inside the allied position. Fuentes de Onoro then expands the conflict from an isolated fort to Wellington's effort to block Massena's retreat. Sharpe's task is to turn ceremonial troops into a unit that can survive a professional enemy before political embarrassment becomes military disaster.
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