Silk And Steel: A Novel by Stephen Alter [Paperback]

Amid the opulence and brutality of nineteenth-century India, colourful bandits fight for survival.

James Webley—a brave but erratic English commander—has joined forces with the romantic Colonel Augustine, son of an Englishwoman and a noble Indian. Together they have rejected the rigours of mercenary service to pursue a lawless career of pillage.

It is Augustine’s hope to find a way of maintaining their cornered brigand army against the British forces that seek to destroy it. He devises a subtle and devious plan to regenerate Webley’s flagging spirits, employing the fascinating Khasturba. As his scheme goes into operation, the drama heightens towards its gripping and disastrous climax.