Wellington’s army is short of money in 1810, and Sharpe is ordered behind enemy lines to recover a cache of Spanish gold needed to continue the campaign. The mission brings him into conflict with guerrilla leaders who have their own claims on the treasure and their own reasons to distrust the British. With French forces closing in, Sharpe must decide how far he will go to complete his orders and escape through Almeida.
The gold matters because Wellington’s army is operating at the edge of financial collapse. Sharpe therefore has orders whose strategic importance may outweigh the wishes of the Spanish allies who believe the treasure belongs to their own struggle. The destruction around Almeida turns the mission into a brutal calculation about whether one town, one fortune and individual lives can be sacrificed to keep the larger campaign alive.
Paul Bannister
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G. A. Henty
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Henry Treece
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Geoffrey Trease
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Ken Follett
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