Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean) and his aide-de-camp Sergeant Major Harper (Daragh O’Malley) are sent back to South Essex, England, to the training barracks, from the Napoleonic Wars to discover why additional troops have not been recruited, trained, and dispatched to the depleted ranks of Lord Wellington’s army. The problem may be Sir Henry Simmerson (Michael Cochrane) who, in league with the Prince Regent (Julian Fellowes), has drained away trained soldiers and stationed them in a remote place to be detailed to other, more politically solvent units. Under cover, Sharpe and Harper must infiltrate this operation to restore the proper assignment of replacement troops to the Wellington force and exposing the corruption in the military ranks.