It is 1807. At a country house party, Hew Stubbs meets the two people who are to have a momentous impact on his life. One is the Comte de Peucy, a French nobleman who, he finds out later, is a spy working for Napoleon's government. The second is the beautiful but dangerous adventuress Sophia Rowlands. An intrigue with Sophia leads to disgrace for both of them, and, while he is sent to join the army, she escapes from banishment in the country to find herself in France.The twists and turns of fate lead all three of them to Portugal, which is in the throes of the Peninsular War, and their paths cross in the most unexpected ways.