'A concisely rich reading experience like no other . . . immensely, continuously exciting to boot. Highly, highly recommended' Francis Spufford'An epic voyage well worth taking' Telegraph'There is nothing quite like a James Buchan novel' Financial TimesAutumn, 1785. Two young boys, in the uniform of officer cadets of the Royal Military College, are standing outside the porter's gate of a house in the faubourg Saint-Germain of Paris. One of the boys is William Neilson, the third of that name. The other is Napoléon Buonaparte. They are the best of friends. As the monarchy in France disintegrates, the boys take different paths, one towards military success, supreme power and immortal fame, the other into shame, disgrace, imprisonment and misery. They meet, twenty-seven years later, each at the limit of his strength, equals once again, beside a frozen river in Russia. The gripping and adventure-packed new instalment of the story of the Neilsons, a Scottish family in French service, over five generations and four continents. 'Delightful . . . The nearest series to this I can think of is Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin cycle' Francis Spufford, winner of the Costa First novel award'A tight and bright romp of a read' ? ? ? ? ?'His rollicking romp ranges widely across the world, taking in the French Revolution, the Jacobite rebellion, love affairs, duels, general skullduggery and much else besides, in prose as elegant as it is witty' ? ? ? ? ?