Sword of Fortune

Description

India, 1778. Richard Bryant arrives in India as a humble clerk with the John Company. But he is driven by an ambition and military enthusiasm that sees him rise beyond his status. He has barely been in Bombay a year when a disastrous love affair with Barbara Smythe forces him to flee the city. He enters the Indian jungle. It is the start of a new life as an outlaw, relying on his wits and his pistols to survive. In the escapades and dangers which lie ahead, Richard becomes an adventurer on a grand scale. He commands French regiments at the court of the feared Begum Sombre, making enemies of every nationality and, in time, carving his own kingdom out of the jungle. Feared by princes, marauders and fellow mercenaries alike, Richard finds a place for himself in the world. But there are terrible scores to be settled, even at the risk of throwing all of his glory away...