Synopsis: The story traces the exploits of these two friends through the course of their lives. It starts when they are in school, and then focuses on the lead up to World War I. The story then follows both Billy and Wally as they each join the AIF Light Horse in Sydney, and eventually they find themselves embarking to go and fight the war in Europe. However, as fate would have it, the Light Horse is diverted from landing in France and they find themselves stranded in the desert of Egypt until they are asked to volunteer to provide reinforcements for the landings at Gallipoli.