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The narrative follows a young Englishman who reenters military life as war with France is declared, tracing his travels, a rough sea passage, and preparations for campaign amid nationwide mobilization. Couriers, militia musters, and public celebrations frame the larger geopolitical tensions and religious grievances that precipitate conflict. Episodic scenes alternate between battlefield readiness, logistical details, and quieter domestic moments. Themes of loyalty, ambition, and the human cost of war emerge as individual choices intersect with the politics and practicalities of alliance and warfare.
Footnote 1: The pistole at this period was worth £3 6s. 6d.
Footnote 2: Brantôme, who lived shortly after Charles V.'s time, says all the other monarchs called him this because he never kept a treaty, and cheated everybody.
Footnote 3: Now the 1st (Royal) Dragoons.
Footnote 4: The Mousquetaires Noirs and Gris were thus described from the colour of their horses. They were the corps d'élite of France. The one had been established by Louis XIV., the other by Mazarin.