It is 1709, and Europe is in the midst of the coldest winter for a century. France is suffering profoundly: with her people starving and her army rattled by mutiny and desertions, King Louis XIV is at The Hague, searching for peace with the English on almost any terms. To assist these negotiations, the Duke of Marlborough sends Captain Daniel Rawson on a dangerous mission to Paris to seek out a package of vital information that could secure an advantageous peace deal for England. Yet when the peace talks collapse, Daniel is again embroiled in a dangerous adventure behind enemy lines And as the French army regains its strength and a bloody encounter looms at Malplaquet, Daniel faces his most murdering battle yet.