ATHENS, APRIL 1941. Adolf Hitler has conquered most of Europe, and he’s now turning his attention to the Balkans. The unstoppable Wehrmacht is unleashed on Greece. Standing in its way, on the imposing slopes of Mount Olympus, sacred home of the ancient Greek gods, are soldiers of the New Zealand Division, including a sharpshooter in the person of Second Lieutenant Neil Rankin. This fictional story places Rankin and his platoon at the heart of these actual events. The Greek nation’s unfolding disaster, and the humour, farce, personal hurt and tragedy experienced by men at war are detailed in this well-written debut novel. While ultimately the Battle of Greece was a military failure, it was the curtain-raiser for the campaigns to come, in which New Zealand would play a prominent part. Just 26 years after the name “Gallipoli” was seared into the national psyche, like their fathers before them, many of those involved in this battle would never see their homeland again.