Here we are, fighting alongside the co-called mightiest nation on earth with all the firepower you could ask for — jets, B52s, tanks, gunships, arty, rockets, napalm, you name it — and the VC are creeping around with a rifle each and we still can't beat the buggers! And it's getting worse, not better.
It's 1969. The sixties are still swinging, man is headed for the moon and surfing-mad Davey is out to win the inaugural Newcastle Under-14 Surf Championship.
But when his older brother Tom is drafted to fight in the army, the far-away war in Vietnam creates waves very close to home.