In October 1863, Ian Steele, having taken on the identity of Captain Samuel Forbes, is fighting the Pashtun on the north-west frontier in India. Meanwhile in London, the love of his life, Ella, is trying to reclaim their son and escape an unhappy marriage. And half a world away, the real Samuel Forbes is facing the Confederates at the Battle of Mission Ridge in Tennessee.
All three of their lives will change beyond recognition in the year to come.
As 1864 dawns, Ian is posted to the battlefields of the Waikato in New Zealand, where he comes face to face with an old nemesis. As the ten-year agreement between Steele and Forbes nears its end, their foe is desperate to catch them out and cruel all their hopes for the future...