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.

After surviving the Battle of Culloden in 1746, young Hughie MacKim swears a blood oath to avenge the murder of his brother. Trained as an infantryman in Fraser's Highlanders, Hugh joins the Army himself and follows the trail across the horror of war in North America, through to the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in September 1759. But how can he trace the men in the anonymous ranks of the British Army?

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.

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.

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.