IT IS 1704 AND EUROPE IS AT WAR With Lord Churchill's rousing words ringing in his ears, the courageous young Captain Daniel Rawson embarks on a dangerous mission to lead his men into battle against the French enemy. He must succeed at all costs- the future of England is at stake. But Rawson is the target of the murderous General Salignac who will stop at nothing to see his adversary dead. As Rawson and his men march across the continent, he must keep one step ahead of Salignac's brigands and live to fight heroically at the Battle of Blenheim. The author of the bestselling Railway detective series triumphs with this stunning first book in the Captain Rawson series.

We come across our hero, Captain Rawson, deep inside the war-ravaged borders of Europe, as he fights alongside the brave and resolute Earl of Marlborough in defeating the, self-proclaimed, ‘invincible’ French army. Yet victory is short lived, blunted by the dissenting voices of the Dutch, who secretly seek to wrestle the power and life from Rawson’s compatriot, Marlborough. In these hostile and insecure times, Captain Rawson is called on to succeed in his biggest, most daring mission to the rescue of a celebrated tapestry-maker turned spy from inside the fortified Bastille – the pride of a despotic France. Now alone behind enemy-lines, the undaunted Rawson must apply all his guile and wit in his rescuing of the renowned prisoner and his beautiful daughter, Amalia – a delicate girl to whom Rawson’s friendship soon blossoms into something more. However, unbeknownst to Rawson the French and Dutch have already combined to plot both the assassination of Marlborough and the reclaiming of his power. This time Europe is beginning to close in on him, and it will take all of his self-sacrifice, skill and sincerity to once again rescue the war and the army’s pride from out of the clutches of the betrayers.

Returning to camp from a dangerous solo mission behind enemy lines, career soldier Daniel Rawson finds himself stranded on foot with French soldiers in fierce pursuit. With help from a local farmer and the loan of a horse, Daniel manages to escape by the skin of his teeth. But when Daniel returns to thank the man he finds the farmhouse and barn have been set ablaze and the farmer is approaching death, apparently at the hands of English soldiers. Back at home in England there is political unrest. Queen Anne's favour has shifted causing the Duke of Marlborough to resign as Commander-In-Chief. After several similar raids on other farms, Daniel enlists the help of his old friend, Henry Welbeck to help investigate. All the while the treacherous and scheming French Commander, the Duc de Vendome, is becoming hell bent on the capture of Daniel, by any means at his disposal.

In the wake of victory at Oudenarde, career soldier Captain Daniel Rawson must take a leading role in the Allies' new strategy - to invade further into French territories and lay siege to Lille, the 'pearl of its fortresses'. He fights alongside the Duke of Marlborough, whose position and safety abroad are threatened by politicians in England plotting his downfall - and by his outspoken and treasonous wife, Sarah. Meanwhile, Captain Rawson must contend with a new rival for his beloved, the beautiful Amalia Janssen, rescue his comrade-in-arms, Henry Welbeck, and avoid capture by ruthless French soldiers.

1709. Europe is in the grip of the coldest winter for a century. Ports freeze. Cattle die. People starve. Mutiny and desertions rattle the French army leaving Louis X1V to search for peace on almost any terms. Captain Daniel Rawson acts as an interpreter at the negotiations in The Hague, feeling acute frustration when the talks collapse. While the resumption of war looms close at hand again, Daniel is given a personal mission by Marlborough himself which takes him deep behind enemy lines. If he survives, the Battle of Malplaquet, the bloodiest yet, awaits him...