Two boys, Colin Monro a Protestant and Tom O'Neill a Catholic, both born at the beginning of the Second World War become blood brothers in the innocence of childhood friendship. Both boys grow into men with the expectations of their communities, Colin becoming an Officer in the Parachute Regiment and Special Air Service, Tom a solicitor and a leader of the Provisional IRA. Through their eyes and those of their family and friends we experience the influence of a closed environment on the social history of a Province, which can lead to mans' inhumanity even to the people they love.