As their ship docks in Bombay, news of the rising by the Indian mutineers, and their massacre of women, children, and civilians, reaches Anthony Morgan and his company. Even so, they're hardly prepared for what they now face in a country so unknown to them, where they find it hard to understand who is friend or foe among the native troops. In reality, Morgan himself is more interested in another quest. On discovering that the son he fathered, his child's mother and her husband, Morgan's old sergeant, are captives up in the hills - where Rhani of Jansi is building up her force against old comers - he is determined to find a way to rescue them and return them to safety. Dust and Steel is a gripping tale of one of the great challenges to the Victorian Empire, and the difficult dilemmas of a soldier torn between orders and honor.

The year is 1854. A brutal war is being fought in the Crimea war, and the stench of despair hangs heavy in the air. Anthony Morgan is a young officer in the 95th Regiment. He is new to the battlefield and has yet to experience the bitterness of warfare. But Morgan soon realises that he is not the only one who has a lot to learn. His fellow soldiers are almost as dangerous as the enemy... With a weak Lieutenant leading them, and distraction in the form of his footman’s wife, Morgan must find a way to survive the battle with not only his sanity, but his life, still intact. To Do And Die is a brilliantly written military adventure combining swashbuckling action with period detail. Praise for To Do and Die: `Mercer's depiction of the experience of battle is unsurpassed' – Saul David, author of Zulu Dawn 'A finely-drawn depiction of battle and the camaraderie of war' - The Daily Mail