An intense, imaginative and darkly atmospheric historical spy thriller — Patrick O'Brian meets John le Carré. (previously published as The Emperor's Gold)
'A sparkling gem of a novel' — M C Scott
July 1805: Napoleon's army masses across the Channel — Britain is within hours of invasion and defeat. Only one thing stands in the way — an obscure government bureau of murky origins and shadowy purpose: The Comptrollerate General for Scrutiny and Survey. And, rescued from a shipwreck, his past erased, Tom Roscarrock is their newest agent.
In England, the man who recruited Roscarrock has disappeared, his agents are turning up dead, and reports of a secret French fleet are panicking the authorities.
In France, a plan is underway to shatter the last of England's stability. Behind the clash of fleets and armies, there lies a secret world of intrigue, deception, treachery and violence — and Roscarrock is about to be thrown into it headfirst.
