First of the colourful exploits of 'Fancy Jack' Crossman; The Crimean War is notoriously one of the most brutal and bloody conflicts of the nineteenth century. In an uneasy allience with the French, the Turks and the Sardinians, British soldiers faced death both on the battlefield from the fierce Cossacks and off it from cholera. Sergeant Jack Crossman, referred to by his admiring comrades as 'Fancy Jack', a tough, shrewd and skilful soldier, is part of the proud 88th regiment, the Connaught Rangers, also known as The Devil's Own. Within the regiment Crossman is picked out to lead a covert operation, well knowing that his success or failure could determine the outcome of the war. Gary Kilworth is a master of the period, and of writing sharp, page-turning military adventure.