In the spirit of Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe comes a riveting new series of books, this time set during the Crimean War. Rousing stories of battle adventures and the horrors of campaign life are related with meticulous historical detail. The Crimean War – one of the most brutal and bloody wars of the nineteenth century. The British arrive in an uneasy alliance with the French, the Turks and the Sardinians, facing death both on the battlefield from the fierce Cossacks, and off the battlefield from the scourge of cholera. Sergeant Jack Crossman, tough, shrewd and skilful, is part of the proud 88th regiment, the Connaught Rangers, also known as the Devil’s Own after Wellington saw them and exclaimed, ‘I don’t know what effect those men will have on the enemy, but by God they terrify me.’ Nicknamed ‘Fancy Jack’ by the troops for his aristocratic background, Crossman chose to join the ranks instead of buying a commission to prove his worth as a soldier. Grudgingly admired by his commanding officers and the men, Crossman is singled out to go on a series of suicide missions – known as fox hunts – against the vicious Cossacks, with a motley crew of expendable troublemakers from the regiment . Conscious that the success or failure of these missions could determine the outcome of the war, Crossman is determined not to fail. As the bloodiest battle of the war approaches, the Battle of the Alma, Crossman must push himself to the very limits of his abilities as a soldier if the defeat of the Russians, and the pride of the British army, is to be assured.