Full of gung-ho and naivety, young Thomas Collins joins the British Army in WWII to fight for king and country. Only, nothing prepares him for the brutality of the battlefields. Armed only with a .303 rifle and boot camp training, he's thrown headlong into fighting, killing, men as young as himself. Will he fight or run away – running away looms as the preferred option when shells explode and bullets whizz, ping, by, missing him by a whisker. All he can think about, pray about, when the going gets tough, is getting back home safely. Shell shocked and wounded, in Netley Hospital, he begins to fight his demons. Will his love of his parents, his girlfriend Claudette, now in the ATS, and his best mate on earth, Freddie Murphy – a wheeler dealer in secondhand stuff who tries to stay one step ahead of the coppers – keep him from losing the battle with his nightmares? However, Thomas has another, more urgent, foe to fight – the Southampton Blitz. His mind and actions are filled with keeping the people around him safe but Germany has the might of the Luftwaffe behind it. Is Thomas strong enough? Can he finally come to terms with loss and move on or will he surrender to an enemy more powerful?