Fleeing the guilts of his youth, Lieutenant Leslie Deacon has escaped to hide in the army and the vast rock deserts of a scorched and war-ravaged Aden . Adoo rebels hurl grenades from the shadows and a hard-pressed British Army is struggling to keep order and control. When the Adoo bring the war inside the city, a new guerrilla warfare is needed to keep the rebels at bay and the garrison and its civilians safe. Into this fearful, threatened city comes the adventurer Clemmie Ross and the charismatic Captain Villiers. Deacon's world of duty, honour, courage and love begins to explode and fragment about him. In Aden's scorched deserts and bombed streets, duty only brings death, and honour offers no reward. Only through love will Deacon find peace. All he has to do is find it.