A Formidable Frontier

October, 1813.

With the town of San Sebastian successfully stormed and the siege of Pamplona finally taking effect, Lord Wellington's army is ready to invade France. Ahead of them is the wide estuary of the Bidassoa River and the mountain of La Rhune, heavily fortified by Marshal Soult's army.

After the horrors of Vitoria and San Sebastian, Major-General Paul van Daan's brigade of the Light Division is coming together again. Officers and men are returning from sick leave and the arrival of Wellington's new ADC reunites Paul with an old friend. Meanwhile, Paul's wife Anne faces new challenges as a chaotic French retreat leaves their wounded behind.

Captain Giles Fenwick, struggling to recover from the wound received at San Sebastian, has to find a way to work with a new Spanish protégé, Captain Don Angel Cortez: a man with a difficult past which is about to catch up with him.

Captain Simon Carlyon has discovered a new sympathy for his most awkward junior officer, but Ensign Fox's attempts to integrate into the brigade are proving difficult.

Lieutenant Evan Powell has to make a choice between personal loyalty and career prospects as the army advances beyond the Bidassoa towards the Nivelle and into France, while as the French defences begin to crumble Colonel Gabriel Bonnet is faced with a difficult choice.

As Wellington's army crosses the formidable frontier to establish itself in France for the first time, new friendships become entangled with old enmities, creating a bigger headache for Paul than the retreating French army.