This is an alternate cover edition for ISBN 0006510302/9780006510307.Meet Richard Sharpe, a great British hero. India, 1803. Sergeant Richard Sharpe is hunting a treacherous Englishman who has joined the Mahratta Confederation. Deep in enemy territory he faces temptations more subtle than he could ever dream, and stalking him comes his worst enemy, Sergeant Obediah Hakeswill. The paths of treachery all lead to the small village of Assaye where Sir Arthur Wellesley's tiny British army faces the Mahratta horde. Outnumbered and outgunned, Wellesley decides to fight, and Sharpe is plunged into the white heat of a battle that will make his reputation, if he can only survive.