He offers the Spanish priest and Inquisitor Father Hacha and his brother, the brutal Partisan leader "El Matarife" ("The Slaughterman"), a huge sum of money for their assistance.

He then has his agent, the extraordinarily beautiful Marquesa de Casares el Grande y Melida Sabada (born Helene Leroux), to write a letter to her husband claiming Sharpe tried to rape her.

Helene reveals Ducos' plot, then proposes Sharpe give his parole, whereupon she and Verigny will allow him to escape.

Sharpe delays giving his answer, then escapes when a carelessly discarded cigar blows up a pile of ammunition, causing extensive damage and many deaths in Burgos.

At the Battle of Vitoria, Sharpe's old battalion, the South Essex, is left leaderless when Leroy is killed leading an assault.

When the French panic and flee, Harper and many others, soldiers and civilians alike, loot the abandoned gold and valuables, while Sharpe searches for Helene.

The novel was adapted as the last episode of the second season of the Sharpe television series, guest starring Alice Krige as La Marquesa, Nickolas Grace as Father Hacha and Matthew Scurfield as El Matarife.