Harry Brand fails medical school in 1935 & takes himself off to Ethiopia, to serve as a medical orderly with a Red Cross unit, serving with the army of Hailie Selassie. There he gains first-hand knowledge of the horrors of war, as well as meeting a woman who is to have a profound effect on his life. Harry soon finds himself engaged in a greater war, against Nazi Germany. Harry's instincts are for saving lives, but now he must learn to kill to survive.