The Four Feathers – A.E.W. Mason

"Cowardice is the one thing that no man can forgive."

Harry Feversham, a British officer, resigns his commission just before his regiment is sent to war in Sudan. His friends and his fiancée send him four white feathers, the symbol of cowardice. To redeem his honor, Harry travels to the Sudan alone, disguised as a mute Arab, to perform acts of suicidal bravery and save the lives of the men who scorned him.

Mason's novel is a powerful psychological study of fear and redemption. It explores the pressure of military expectation and the extreme lengths a man will go to prove his courage to himself and others.