A stunning historical novel with the grip of a thriller, by the Costa Award-winning author of PURE.One rainswept winter`s night in 1809, an unconscious man is carried into a house in Somerset. He is Captain John Lacroix, home from Britain`s disastrous campaign against Napoleon`s forces in Spain.Gradually Lacroix recovers his health, but not his peace of mind. He will not - cannot - talk about the war or face the memory of what took place on the retreat to Corunna. After the command comes to return to his regiment, he lights out instead for the Hebrides, unaware that he has far worse to fear than being dragged back to the army: a vicious English corporal and a Spanish officer with secret orders are on his trail.In luminous prose, Miller portrays a man shattered by what he has witnessed, on a journey that leads to unexpected friendships, even to love. Taut with suspense, this is an enthralling, deeply involving novel by one of Britain`s most acclaimed writers.