A young Dutchman named Rob embarks from Amsterdam in 1935, seeking adventure across the globe—first in South African diamond mines, then in Java as the Dutch military faces the Japanese invasion. In the chaos of war, he forges an unbreakable bond with Guus, a fellow soldier who becomes his closest companion. Together they endure the brutal forced labor of the Burma railway before making a desperate escape that will test the limits of their friendship and survival.
