HAVING NARROWLY CHEATED DEATH IN BERLIN, MAJOR PAUL STANTON, SAS, IS DUE SOME DOWNTIME, BUT HE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN LIFE IS NEVER THAT SIMPLE... 1988 and coming up to Christmas, which is a bad time for Paul Stanton. But his old Gurkha friend, Danny Dalloway, is in trouble. In the cold, dark streets of Kathmandu, Stanton and the Gurkhas exact retribution on the ruthless Hungarians threatening Dalloway's business and the Gurkhas' livelihood. But in the aftermath of this bloody episode he meets the captivating Nikki Walker-Haig... Seven months later this beautiful woman comes to London and Stanton is improbably drawn into the mystery of The Great Train Robber - a mystery with links to his dark past and unknown repercussions for his future.