In 1908, a man flees a troubled past in France to enlist in the French Foreign Legion in Algiers. Identifying himself as Gil Vicente, he is accepted as one of a number of new recruits who are also on the run from a checkered past.

A veteran of previous service in the Boer Wars of South Africa, Gil attempts to keep separate but soon finds his life entangled with that of two other recruits, a youth calling himself Jean La Force, and an older veteran now known as Auguste Dupre. Fate draws these three men into a brotherhood of the kind known only to those who have served.

The reader follows these men through their rigorous training and into the brutal heat of battle with brigands and rebel tribes.

When another soldier's crime implicates Gil, he has no choice but to desert in the hope of capturing his antagonist and bringing him back to face justice and clear his name. Nothing is certain in this stark environment, however, and the story concludes with a shocking and surprising twist.

Though its soldiers have served around the world since it was founded in 1831, the Foreign Legion is best known by most readers and film buffs for its service in the deserts of North Africa. Turmel has captured the stark conditions under which these brave soldiers lived and fought in those harsh climates. His thorough research does honor to the authenticity of his story without dimming the action and adventure.

This is a historical novel that will satisfy lovers of adventure fiction and is sure to inspire the reader to search out other of Turmel's novels.

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