With two tours of Iraq under his belt, Sergeant Dave Henley knows what modern war looks like. But nothing can prepare him for the posting to Forward Operating Base Senzhiri, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. This is a battlezone like he's never seen before.He's in charge of 1 Platoon, a ragbag collection of rookies who he must make into a fighting force - and fast. But this is a brutal, unforgiving conflict which takes no prisoners. Their convoy is ambushed on the way to the FOB, leaving two men grievously wounded - before they've fired a shot.Back at home, Dave's wife, Jenny, seven months pregnant, must try to hold together the fragile lives of the families left behind, who all wait for the knock on the door and the arrival of bad news...

The casualties of war aren't only on the battlefield...Coming back from war is never easy, as Sergeant Dave Henley’s platoon discovers all too quickly when they return from Afghanistan. Home can be an equally searing battlefield. When they are summoned back to Helmand to protect the US team destroying the opium crop, it is almost a relief to the soldiers, if not to their wives, girlfriends and families who are turned inside out once more by their men’s sudden departure.And now danger lurks around every corner – for Dave’s team who must learn new skills to survive, and their loved ones in England, whose lives be ripped apart by equally deadly weapons – blind prejudice, acid jealousy, ugly rumour…

With two tours of Iraq under his belt, Sergeant Dave Henley knows what modern war looks like. But nothing can prepare him for the posting to Forward Operating Base Senzhiri, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. This is a battlezone like he's never seen before.He's in charge of 1 Platoon, a ragbag collection of rookies who he must make into a fighting force - and fast. But this is a brutal, unforgiving conflict which takes no prisoners. Their convoy is ambushed on the way to the FOB, leaving two men grievously wounded - before they've fired a shot.Back at home, Dave's wife, Jenny, seven months pregnant, must try to hold together the fragile lives of the families left behind, who all wait for the knock on the door and the arrival of bad news...

The casualties of war aren't only on the battlefield...Coming back from war is never easy, as Sergeant Dave Henley’s platoon discovers all too quickly when they return from Afghanistan. Home can be an equally searing battlefield. When they are summoned back to Helmand to protect the US team destroying the opium crop, it is almost a relief to the soldiers, if not to their wives, girlfriends and families who are turned inside out once more by their men’s sudden departure.And now danger lurks around every corner – for Dave’s team who must learn new skills to survive, and their loved ones in England, whose lives be ripped apart by equally deadly weapons – blind prejudice, acid jealousy, ugly rumour…