June 1813, as the Peninsular war edges towards its climactic battle at Vitoria, a well bred, newly commissioned and hopelessly incompetent officer arrives to take charge of a seasoned troop of British cavalry. The troop's eloquent but shifty corporal takes the officer under his wing, and so begins a journey through the campaign with many laugh out loud moments, as the less than upright members of the troop determine to turn the war against the French to their pecuniary advantage. It's almost as if Jeeves and Wooster find themselves fighting Napoleon. Book 1 of an often funny and very readable period trilogy.