"A RIVETING PORTRAIT ... A BROADER ASSAULT ON THE TYPE OF PRESSURE-COOKER MASCULINITY WHERE TORTURE, CRUELTY, HUMILIATION AND RACISM ARE THE COINS OF THE REALM“ – CARY DARLING, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

The year is 1981 and South Africa's white minority government is embroiled in a conflict on the southern Angolan border. Like all white boys over the age of 16, Nicholas van der Swart must complete two years of compulsory military service to defend the apartheid regime. The threats of communism, violence and racial discord are at an all-time high. But they are not the only dangers Nicholas faces. He must survive the brutality of the army – something that becomes even more difficult when a connection is sparked between him and a fellow recruit.