The first of the colourful exploits of Jack Crossman, The Devil's Own sees him in the thick of the fighting during the notoriously brutal and bloody Crimean War. In an uneasy nineteenth century alliance with the French and the Turks, the British troops faced the dreaded Cossacks on the battlefield and debilitating diseases such as cholera in their campsites. Sergeant Jack Crossman, referred to by his admiring comrades as 'Fancy Jack', is a tough, shrewd and skilful soldier, part of the proud 88th Regiment, the Connaught Rangers, also known as 'The Devil's Own.' When Crossman is selected to lead a covert operation, he knows that his success or failure could determine the outcome of the war. Whether he and his men will survive their mission is another matter.