The adventures of Sharpe and Harper in India, 1817, continue with the rescue of Miss Celia Burroughs from a dangerous Indian prince. Meanwhile, Sharpe has old scores to be settled with the bully Simmerson.

Two years after the Duke of Wellington crushes Napoleon at Waterloo, dispatches from India tell of a local Maharaja, Khande Rao, who is threatening British interests there. Wellington sends Sharpe to investigate on what turns out to be his most dangerous mission to date.