An AU story in which Richard has never joined the police and never left England, until he accepts an invitation to a reunion on an unknown island in the Caribbean Sea, called Saint-Marie. The title is taken from the poem 'The Volunteer' by Herbert Asquith (1881-1947), as a foreshadowing of things to come.

It's THAT time of year, and this will be Richard Poole's third on the island of Saint-Marie, but it's the first in a long time he's done anything so daring as this . . .

It's THAT time of year, and this will be Richard Poole's third on the island of Saint-Marie, but it's the first in a long time he's done anything so daring as this . . .