Publisher's Synopsis
India, 1895. James Ogilvy, subaltern with the 114th Highlanders, is stationed on the North-West Frontier. The ceremony, the sadism, the absurdity and the magnificence of life in the service of the Queen Empress are an ever-present and uneasy juxtaposition. Ogilvy witnesses both the grim consequences of a disastrous patrol and the formally prescribed social world of Simla. When another Frontier patrol results in an apparent shameful failure for James, it brings an unexpected recruit who could help make all the difference in the ultimate confrontation before Fort Gazai. But only James can make the decision to use this means to success - and only success can justify the decision...
