A Soldier's Daughter, and Other Stories

On the rugged North‑West frontier of India, a modest fort stands as a bulwark against restless tribal raids. Inside its walls lives Nita, the spirited daughter of a strict yet compassionate major who has lost his wife. Raised among soldiers, she has learned to shoot, fence, and play cricket, but her father worries that her “tomboy” ways will leave her unprepared for the genteel expectations of English society.

When the major prepares a punitive expedition to quell the latest incursion, he faces a painful choice: send Nita back to England for a proper upbringing or keep her by his side as the frontier’s dangers loom. Nita, fierce and independent, chafes against the idea of becoming a conventional lady, yet she senses that her unusual talents may soon be called upon in ways she never imagined. The story follows her struggle between duty, identity, and the looming threat of conflict on the edge of empire.