When the Japanese invade in 1942, the men and women of a remote garrison in New Guinea flee into the jungle. Some try to escape the island, while others are captured and taken to Japan as prisoners of war. Meanwhile, Australians at home are forced to reckon with the decline of the British Empire in the East and the prospect of invasion. They remain in the dark about the fall of the country's northern island defences. As the war advances and the Allies reach a turning point against the Japanese, some of the New Guinea characters take part in the recapture of the island, or witness the bombing and surrender of Japan from the inside.
