Introduction: 'Am I not a Pakhtun?' -- Death of a commissioner -- The puritan of the desert -- The false dawn of the Imam-Mahdi -- The call of the Imam-Mahdi -- The early summer of 1857 -- The late summer of 1857 -- The Ambeyla disaster -- The Wahabees on trial -- The frontier ablaze -- The brotherhood -- The coming together -- The unholy alliance -- Leading Muslim personalities -- Appendix 1: The roots of the Al-Saud - Al-Wahhab family alliance -- Appendix 2: The 'Wahhabi' family tree in India.