This is episode four in the James Ogilvie series. In this episode, the story confronts the subject of homosexuality in the British army and the stigma attached to it. Throughout the whole book, it is the underlying story with a sad ending.
It starts of with Ogilvie getting away from crawling over dead bodies to take up teaching native recruits. Even then he still ends up at the Khyber Pass with snipers and skirmishers, outnumbered and fighting his way out. A good story with not as much blood and gore as usual.