You know it's going to be good when there's whump on the cover. Basically, Rip Mayne was press-ganged into the British Royal Marines. The book starts out with him deserting, and escaping back home. He's cold, wet, and so hungry he basically collapses at his neighbor's doorstep. Then later in the book he's wounded, dizzy, collapses and has to be operated on while he's still conscious.














