Australian Army Cadet Corporal, 15-year-old Roger Dunning, sets out with his friends, Peter, Stephen and Graham, on a five-day hike on the Atherton Tablelands to complete the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Their OC, Captain Conkey, has placed a set of clues to test their navigation along their 100-kilometre hike. However, almost immediately the four friends walk into trouble so unexpected and so deadly that it tests all their skills as cadets and their friendships. For Roger, it is the toughest test of endurance and character he has ever encountered. To survive, he must summon all his resources of determination and moral courage to see the thing through.