April, 1622. Matthew Lock arrives in The Hague, determined to learn the truth about the brutal murder of his parents. To survive a terrifying conspiracy, and to save his family, Lock must lean on years of training in the musket drill. But with Europe on the brink of the Thirty Years' War, following his father's guidance will not be easy. He must confront his painful past. He must fight his innermost demons. He must become a legend. Matthew Lock must become Matchlock. Matchlock and the Embassy is the first instalment in a new historical fiction series, brought to you by Zachary Twamley, host of When Diplomacy Fails Podcast.

second spans the period between that conflict and the Second Anglo-Afghan War, 1878-80, while the third terminates with the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, which effectively marked the end of the confrontation.