Colville of the Guards, Volume 3 (of 3)

The narrative alternates between social intrigue and brutal frontier warfare. A vulnerable young woman, Ellinor, is rescued from the sea and drawn into the company of opportunistic men aboard a yacht, while Captain Colville and a handful of companions confront a savage uprising around a besieged Residency. Messengers undertake desperate sorties, disguises and close-quarters defense delay the inevitable, and a climactic assault reduces the defenders to a last charge. Later episodes trace the fallout: pursuits and skirmishes, a larger column action, conspiracies unfolding, and the personal consequences for central figures as surviving characters return to civilian life.