‘Sometimes you have to make a mark, to show you were first, to show you matter and make a difference to the world.’
Damian Foley and his mate Chris Monk carry the weight of childhood illness and they have reached their teenage years with plenty to prove. It is the summer of 1966, a year of great change, the decimal currency has been introduced and the first troops from Australia are sent to the war in Vietnam, the largest overseas campaign since the Second World War. Chris’ brother Ross, ‘wins the lottery’ and is conscripted as a soldier to fight the Vietcong and the boys are busting to see Steve McQueen’s ‘The Great Escape’ at The Plaza.
It’s time for the boys to test their mettle. They are accepted into the local gang who test each other with war games and build a tunnel into the bank of the Patterson River. Will they make their mark? And will Ross return safely from Vietnam? Whatever the outcome, the characters will draw on their resources of courage and endurance.