In the winter of 1811 all of Spain has been lost to the French, except for the coastal town of Cadiz which is being besieged by the forces of Marshal Victor. Henry Wellesly (the Duke of Wellington's older brother) is ambassador there, and hard pressed to keep the Spanish in the war because quite a few of them believe it would be best to make their peace with Napoleon. To make matters worse, Wellesley's love letters to a Spanish courtesan have fallen into the hands of the Spanish faction opposing the war. So when Sharpe finds himself stranded in Cadiz with a handful of men, Wellesley knows he's found his man. Meanwhile a joint force of English and Spanish is setting out to attack Victor in the rear, but the Spanish commander Lapena is showing little eagerness to join battle. Before this novel culminates in the famous battle at Barossa, there's villains and action galore to keep Sharpe busy and yourself entertained. And if this isn't your first Sharpe-novel you'll know that few can rival Cornwell in writing a fast-paced story that'll keep you turning pages. Granted, there's nothing very learned about any Sharpe-novel, and all the characters are indeed either good or bad and it's all very straightforward stuff but hey, they were meant to entertain and that's what these novels do in a superb manner. One minor annoyance: Cornwell and his publisher clearly made sure all novels are self-contained so you could read them in random order and that's all very well, but if you're reading them back to back it does get annoying to come across (in each novel, again and again and again...) the bits - about how Sharpe got his commission - the story behind Sharpe's telescope - Sergeant's Harper's volleygun - Rifleman Hagman's history as a poacher - etc. etc. But as I said: that's a minor detail because the remaining 99,8% of the book are as good as ever.