Crete, May 1941. Tanner finds himself embroiled in a deadly game of survival that will test his resolve more than ever before.
Not only has a difficult new subaltern arrived on the island, but Tanner has offended Alopex, a powerful Cretan kapitan who has sworn to kill him. Then suddenly the Germans invade and British fortunes take another dive for the worst. At Hiraklion, Tanner and the rest of the 2nd Battalion Yorks Rangers find themselves battling in vicious close-quarter fighting against the German paratroopers. Leading a counter-attack, Peploe and Tanner's B Company drive the enemy back. But this success is short-lived and, once again, Tanner and Sykes find themselves faced with a bitter retreat.
Although they successfully make it aboard a destroyer, the danger has not passed as the skies darken with enemy bombers. Tanner and his fellows are forced to swim for the shore where only one man seems able to help them -- Alopex. To make matters worse, the Germans are determined on vengeance, and Tanner soon finds himself face to face with an enemy eager to settle the score.
