When Private David Lewis deserted the British East India Company's army in 1827, his motivation appears simply to have been freedom from the drudgery and danger of military life.

Walking out the gate with no intention of returning to duty put a target on his back. The punishment for desertion was death, which might be inflicted in a variety of cruel manners. Hanging was the most likely. But one favorite reserved especially for Indian soldiers was to tie the offender across the mouth of a cannon and fire the gun, blowing the victim to smithereens.

Most of his enlisted contemporaries were barely literate. Lewis was an exception. He was a reader who understood Latin and Greek and had a boundless curiosity about the world around him. Lewis had no money. He headed west on foot, begging for food in villages he passed through. His plan was to walk home.

Perhaps the wisest move he made was to adopt a new name and identity. He became Charles Masson (a name he would retain for the remainder of his life), a man traveling through the country for amusement.

In Pakistan he encountered Josiah Harlan, an American who came east with the intent of making himself a king. Harlan, who many believe was the model for Rudyard Kipling's story The Man Who Would Be King, identified Lewis/Masson as a deserter and could have turned him in. Instead, Harlan -- who was then a mercenary in the employ of Shah Shujah, exiled king of Afghanistan -- recruited the deserter in a plot to restore the Shah to his throne.

It turned out to be a lucky break for Masson, for it took him to the Hindu Kush and his destiny.

In Afghanistan he became intrigued with the story of Alexander the Great, who had trekked these same hills and, according to legend, left fabulous cities in his wake. Masson's goal was to discover proof of the legend. For years he scoured the area, uncovering historic wonders, translating a lost language that had once been dominant in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and building a reputation as an archaeologist and scholar.

Then, just as his discoveries began getting the attention they deserved, a devious British agent recognized him as the deserter David Lewis and duped him into being a spy for the East India Company. This task diverted him from his scholarly pursuits and put his life at risk from Afghanis who were formerly his friends. When the British invaded the country against his warnings, Masson found himself imprisoned and under threat of death.

The invasion failed, as he knew it would. Impoverished, his collections scattered and manuscripts lost, Masson returned to England. He would never recoup his reputation and lies buried now in an unmarked grave in London.

The King's Shadow is a wonderful, well-researched story replete with intriguing characters and events. Highly recommended.