The Pennisula War is over, but just as Sharpe is ready to return to his wife in England, he is accused of stealing from Napoleon's treasury and becomes a pawn of Major Ducos' latest scheme.
Tropes that appear in this episode:
- Adapted Out: Nairn's role is given to Major-General Ross, an original recurring character in the series and the character's fate changed so he is merely wounded.
- Adaptation Name Change: Lady Molly Spinacre becomes Lady Molly Hardcastle and Lucille's married name is changed from Castineau to Duberre.
- Asshole Victim: Sharpe's cruelty towards Ducos. Later, Molly's cruelty towards Jane. Ducos himself is pointlessly cruel towards a pair of whores trying to get a piece of his little scheme.
- At Least I Admit It: Molly and Jane both live parasitic lives, but one of them is more ready to admit this than the other.Jane: What do you think I am, Molly? A—(cue Bitch Slap)Molly: A whore. There's the word you're looking for. I'm a whore, Jane. An honest one. You are dishonest. I just tell lies to the men in my life.
- Big Bad: Major Pierre Ducos.
- Big Damn Heroes: General Calvet, both on the battlefield and in the courtroom.
- Call-Back: Ducos gets another pair of his glasses crushed by Sharpe, just as in Sharpe's Enemy.
- The Casanova: Sharpe as always, but Played for Drama this time. He fights his attraction to Lucille, but sleeps with her in a moment of passion after learning of his wife's betrayal. This damages his friendship with Fredrickson, who had fallen for her and planned to propose.
- Death by Adaptation: Two specific examples occur to avoid bringing back characters from Sharpe's Siege: Maillot is a composite of Maillot (the officer guarding Napoleon's treasure) and Lassan (Lucille's brother), while Wigram is a composite of Wigram (the officer in charge of Sharpe's court martial) and Bampfylde (the officer Sharpe fights a duel with).
- Defeat Means Friendship: For France as a whole since Napoleon's defeat. The alliance with Calvet is more an Enemy Mine situation, as the general is still loyal to Napoleon but happy to work with the English if it means getting rid of the treacherous Ducos.
- Didn't Think This Through: Jane's entire plan falls apart after settling into London. Her new beau turns out to be a notorious gambler, and she wastes all of her money paying off his debts, funding his investments, and splurging on personal dresses and jewellery. To top it off, she ends up living in fear, knowing that Sharpe will most certainly come for revenge.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the novel, Ducos is executed via firing squad. In the film, Sharpe shoots him as he tries to escape.
- Enemy Mine: General Calvet teams up with Sharpe in this episode to recover the treasury and take down Ducos.
- Face–Heel Turn: Jane completes hers in this episode.
- False Flag Operation: Ducos steals Napoleon's treasure and has French soldiers murdered, pinning both crimes on Sharpe.
- False Friend: Molly to Jane, although she doesn't really sour on her until after the latter ruins herself financially; and even so, Molly does give Jane some earnest, if blunt, parting advice.
- Frame-Up: Sharpe is framed for stealing the French treasury by Ducos.
- Gold Digger: Molly, wannabe Grand Dame. She's fully aware of what she is and doesn't even really seem to care if she's forced into prostitution; see At Least I Admit It.
- Graceful Loser: Fredrickson towards Sharpe in the end.
- Groin Attack: Sharpe gives Duco a good kick between the legs.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Ducos' Undying Loyalty to France was one of his few virtues, but he shows his true colours in this episode, betraying both Napoleon and his countrymen for the sake of riches and revenge.
- Literal Ass-Kicking: Sharpe sees off a beaten Ducos with one of these.Sharpe: Go on, crawl back to Calvet!
- My God, What Have I Done?: Henri refuses to make a false statement to corroborate Ducos' story that Sharpe murdered their soldiers and stole Napoleon's treasure. He returns to Normandy to be with his sister, but is riddled with guilt for having been an Accomplice by Inaction.
- Oh, Crap!: Ducos isn't too worried when he sees Calvet has come to deal with him at the end. But then he sees Sharpe, has a brief Villainous Breakdown, and hastily devises a proper strategy.
- Revenge Before Reason: Ducos stays behind during a losing battle just for a chance to kill Sharpe.
- Schmuck Bait: After beating Ducos, Sharpe tells him to pick up his glasses. Once Duco has them in his hand, Sharpe stamps on it, and Ducos is left screaming in pain as his palm is cut to ribbons by the broken lenses.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Molly abandons Jane when she blows all of Sharpe's funds.
- Slowly Slipping Into Evil: Jane's betrayal of Sharpe is gradual, spurred on by some effective manipulation on the part of her Gold Digger best friend and a charming new perfect gentleman in her life. By the time Harper catches up with her in London, she's embraced the life she bought with Sharpe's money, in love with her new man, and will play a dark role in the future.
- Undignified Death: Ducos.
- Villain Decay: Ducos, who was introduced as the emperor's spymaster and a dangerous enemy, is reduced in this episode to a greedy, treasonous opportunist whose latest Evil Plan only gets as far as it does due to Sharpe suffering a string of personal misfortunes far beyond Ducos' control. In fairness, his final manoeuvre – escaping his castle before Sharpe conquers it, then returning at the head of a larger force to recover the riches he'd stolen himself, now conveniently in the designated thief's possession – is rather brilliant, if entirely improvised.
- What a Drag: Ducos’ fate: After getting shot in the back by Sharpe at long-range, his horse drags his body away.
- Why Don't You Just Stab Him?: Ducos has Sharpe at his mercy, but instead of just finishing Sharpe off with a single thrust, he pulls his sword back for a grand killing stroke, allowing Sharpe to knock Ducos off his feet and follow up with a Groin Attack to put Ducos out of action.
- You Killed My Brother: Lucille initially believes that Sharpe murdered her brother as part of Major Pierre Ducos' plot.
