Moira Downie

Four recruits arrive at Kimberley station to undergo training at the local army camp. Soutie, Liebling, Tiny and PP soon become friends as they are put through their paces by the sergeant. They all volunteer for border duty, where they are joined by Chico, a black tracker, and are sent out on patrol. After they come upon a murdered farm family, their radio is destroyed by enemy fire and they are required to find their way back to base camp. In the ensuing skirmishes some of them perish.

Lt. Gerhard Muller is the son of a pilot who was killed while flying with the South African Air Force in Korea. At the time his best friend and fellow pilot, Chris Fourie, was the only one to return from their mission and since then there have been various rumours about what happened. Now Gerhard is joining a Mirage squadron at Waterkloof Air Force Base, where Fourie will be his immediate superior. In addition his grandfather, Colonel Greeff, is the base commander. Also joining the squadron is Gerhard's best friend, Martin Bekker, who is the only one who knows about Gerhard's recent dizzy spells. It also emerges that there was a relationship between Gerhard's mother and Commander Fourie before she and his father got married.