Richard Sharpe and the French invasion of Galicia, January 1809. In the bitter winter of 1809 the French are winning the war in Spain and Britain′s forces are retreating towards Corunna, with Napoleon′s victorious armies in pursuit. Lieutenant Richard Sharpe and a detachment of Riflemen are cut off from the British army and surrounded by enemy troops. Their only hope of escape is to accept the help of an unlikely ally, a Spanish cavalry officer, Major Blas Vivar. Unknown to Sharpe, the Spaniard harbours a desperate and quixotic ambition which will lead to a suicidal assault on the holy city of Santiago de Compostela and a savage fight agains overwhelming French numbers. Sharpe′s determination must be tested to its limit if victory is to be snatched from disaster