In the spring of 1809 the British Army, spearheaded by Sir Arthur Wellesley, pushes north to drive the French out of Portugal. Captain James Craven, a prize fighter and rogue recruited to teach the use of cold steel is along for the ride, seeking riches and wine. As quick with his mouth as he is with a blade, Craven is caught in a forbidden duel by Wellesley himself on the eve of battle. The outcome is not what he expected. Craven’s life is about to take a major turn and descend into a whirlwind adventure beyond his wildest imagination.

When the French find a path through the mountains to outflank the entrenched Anglo Portuguese army at Bussaco there is no choice but to continue the retreat to Lisbon. Craven and the Salford Rifles are tasked with slowing the enemy advance but soon they will have their backs to the sea. More than sixty thousand French troops descend on the Portuguese capital where the fate of British army will be decided. But even as the French columns approach, Craven receives news that an old enemy is nearby, and he must choose between seeking revenge and standing beside his men.

1878: When his family loses their home, to Jack Roberts, who has grown up hearing stories of the Crimean war and the magnificent charge of the Heavy Brigade, the choice between working in a dangerous factory or enlisting in the army and putting on the famed red uniform is an easy one. But when fighting for Queen and Country takes him far from home to defending a small mission station from overwhelming numbers, it is anything but easy and bravery and stoicism take on new meaning.

Burmese War, 1852. Unable to join the famous Royal Malverns, Jack Windrush is commissioned into the despised 113th foot. Determined to rise in the ranks and make a name for himself, he is sent with the 113th to join the British expedition. But when they get involved in the attack of Rangoon, Jack realizes that war on the fringes of the empire is not as honorable and glorious as he expected. After a chance meeting with a renegade British soldier, Jack witnesses the true terrors of war, and begins to question the whole framework in which he has grown up.

London, 1798. Late one night, a junior naval officer at the Admiralty intercepts a coded despatch, marked with blood: Napoleon Bonaparte is about to launch the largest invasion fleet in history. Target: unknown.

A stroke of good fortune sees 12-year-old Martin escape his hard life and be taken on as a ship's boy and under steward to the captain in the Royal Navy frigate the Falcon. What follows is a chronicle of his talent for getting into and out of trouble at Gibraltar, the siege of Toulon, and against Barbary pirates.

Kent, England, 1762. Bloody smuggling wars are raging on England's southern coast. It's a time of daring men and bold women, and deadly skirmishes between rival gangs and the law. John Smith, a man both hanged and drowned, returns to his home village, swearing vengeance on the landowner who killed his father. There is no quarter asked or expected when Smith begins to carve out his place among the Free Traders of Kent. What he doesn't know is that the Preventative Service has sent Ambrose Grant - their most effective man - to hunt him down.

After a century of war, revolutions, and imperial conquests, 1790s Europe is still embroiled in a battle for control of the sea and colonies. Tall ships navigate familiar and foreign waters, and ambitious young men without rank or status seek their futures in naval commands. First Lieutenant Alexander Clay of the frigate Agrius is self-made, clever, and ready for the new age. But the old world, dominated by patronage, retains a tight hold on advancement.

A hero’s journey begins in an exhilarating new series by Griff Hosker. In 1335 the Black Death was just 13 years away from England, but there were other threats and dangers. Young John Hawkwood is forced to leave his home and seek a life in London. There he learns how to survive and, more importantly, how to fight. Leaving his life as an apprentice tailor he follows the army and King Edward to fight the Scots. He has a skill: he can not only use a bow, but he can use a sword and his mind.

The year 1792. With French revolutionary agents traveling freely but secretly between Ireland and England and war with France inevitable, the English government of Mr. Pitt is desperately anxious to uncover any plots between Irish rebels and the French. Lieutenant James Merriman with his ship, the sloop Aphrodite, is ordered to the Irish Sea to assist the principal treasury agent Mr. Grahame in this work. Merriman is plunged headlong into the world of espionage, and when Grahame is seriously wounded, it falls to Merriman to carry on the investigation.