Gurkhas have been recruited into the British and Indian armies since 1815 - the year the East India Company went to war with Nepal. Over nearly 200 years these soldiers from the foothills of the Himalayas have become a byword for courage, endurance and loyalty. In this study, Tony Gould examines the many legends that have grown up around them and puts the story of the expansion and contraction of Britain's Gurkha force into the context of Nepalese history, as well as that of the Indian and British armies. The reality of this unique relationship is in many ways more remarkable than the myth.