After fighting for their country and their lives at Waterloo in 1815, Sergeant Major Daniel Sibson and his lifelong friend Corporal Ralph Masters return to their hometown of Hastings hoping for a heroes' welcome. However, they return to find a very different Hastings from the one they had left.

In their absence, smugglers now ruled the town and everyone was in on it, except the resident magistrate, Sir John Rutherford.

With no money, jobs or shelter and Ralph injured from his time at war, Daniel and Ralph join the smugglers' gang to make ends meet, but would their conscience get the better of them, or would Daniel's love for the daughter of the vicious gang leader, Dobson, prevail?

With Sir John on a mission to stop Dobson and return order to Hastings, what would become of Daniel and Ralph? Would their friendship withstand these testing times and would they survive this battle?