Sharpe is sent back to England to get new recruits for his division. He finds a plot underway to sell the recruits for profit, a practice known as crimping. To regain his recruits he must fight corrupt politicians and military officials.

With only a small force, Sharpe must withstand a siege in a French coastal fort he has captured.

The Frenchman Major Pierre Ducos has framed Sharpe for the theft of Napoleon's personal treasure. Sharpe, with Capt. Frederickson and Sgt. Major Harper, travel through peacetime France and into Naples to find Ducos and clear themselves.

Sharpe is a lieutenant-colonel in the Belgian Light Dragoons, serving as military adviser to the young Prince of Orange. The great Battle of Waterloo is about to occur and Sharpe once again has a big role to play.

Sharpe and Patrick Harper are sent to Chile to solve the disappearance of Don Blas Vivar, the Captain-General of the colony. En route they visit Napoleon in exile and subsequently are accused of trying to pass a message from the emperor to Chilean rebels.