Three newly recruited police constables, each with different motivations and backgrounds, embark on a three-year tour of duty in Palestine in the mid-1930s, as the British colonial authorities struggle to contain an uprising by the local Arab population. Sam, a young man seeking adventure, Spud, a freewheeling Eastender, and Jack, with a background in higher education and the arts, are thrown together as violence intensifies against the British forces of law and order.

The three recruits witness first-hand the struggle for land and rights in British Mandate Palestine, while being obliged to participate in British efforts to crush the Arab rebellion and restore order.

At such a dangerous time, will the three constables emerge unscathed from their experiences? What will they discover about land, homes, and livelihoods—the issues at the core of the still-unsolved question of Palestine? And why on earth has Jack, an artist at heart, chosen to become a policeman?