In Janaury 1935, Rob, a young Dutch man, departs to Capetown in search of adventure and escape from his bourgeois roots. After a stint in the brutal diamond mines of South Africa, Rob heads to Java to join the Dutch army making a last stand against the Japanese. Here he meets fellow Dutchman Guus, in whom he finds a soul mate and the best friend he will ever have. Together, they are captured by the Japanese, together they survive the hell of the labour camps and together they leap off the side of their ship when it is torpedoed. Rob never sees his friend again, but spends the rest of his life unable to find rest with the shadow of the past hanging over him.