Story of two young men who decide to enlist after the initial ANZAC landings. The 18 year old, Archy Hamilton, is potential champion sprinter who is trained by his Uncle Jack, but who desperately wants to join the Light Horse. Jack believes Archy could be as fast as the current British champion, Lasalles (the name Archy adopts when he illegally enlists in Perth - he is under age). The older Frank Dunne works with a group of mates (Billy, Barney, Snowy) on the railways. He is reluctant to join up at first but becomes persuaded by his mates. After a series of adventures (an althetic race, hitching a ride on a train, getting lost in the desert) they reach Perth where they enlist - Archy in the 10th Light Horse and Frank in the infantry.

After a period of training in Egypt and another series of adventures (what might be called "rites of passage" or coming of age - they learn the sophisticated ways of the city such as drinking, gambling, being cheated, whoring, attending an officers' ball, etc) they separately are sent to Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula. They are part of a contingent of troops sent to distract the enemy's attention while a larger force of British troops land at Suvla Bay. The infantry attack Lone Pine (Barney is killed and Snowy fatally wounded in the stomach) while the Light Horse (without their horses!) are to attack the Turkish positions across a stretch of land known as the Nek. The accompanying artillery barrage ceases 7 minutes too soon and the Turks have time to return to the trenches and machine gun emplacements before the Anzacs are ordered to leave the trenches. Two waves of Light Horsemen are mowed down before they can get more than a few metres from the trench (compare with similar depiction in Kubrick's "Paths of Glory"). The field telephone lines have been cut by shelling, so Frank is used as a runner between the front and commanding officers. The AIF Colonel (an upper-class Australian with a "British" accent) in charge of the attack orders the Light Horse to keep attacking in spite of the losses and in spite of the fact that the British Forces have landed safely and are "drinking tea on the beach" only a mile away. Frank does not arrive at the front with the orders to stop the attack in time to prevent the 3rd wave, including Archy, from going over the top to certain death. Archy writes a letter home to his parents explaining why he ran away from home and pins the letter and his athletics medal to the trench wall with a bayonet. He prepares himself for certain death with the words used by his Uncle Jack to motivate him before running a race. Archy leaves the trench and sprints across the Nek before being hit by machine gun fire.