An exciting journey through aerial dog fights and naval battles of W.W.1, Washington high society and diamond mining in South Africa. Three brothers are growing up, after the unexpected death of their father, just before America enters the First World War.The youngest brother, Eddy, after finishing school, joins the R.F.C., sees action in northern France, is then seconded to the R.N.A.S. and send to East Africa to tackle the German cruiser, Königsberg.Gerald, the middle brother and an opportunist, marries the heiress of a social climbing neighbour in Washington DC to solve his financial problems when he no longer has his father´s support.Chadwick, the oldest, after the funeral in Scotland, takes his mother to their estate in South Africa.There he gets involved in diamond mining and meets Adelaide, the daughter of a neighbour, whom he marries, with tragic results.His mother returns to Washington and he then joins the Cape Squadron of the Royal Navy and is posted to Mafia Island, where he is reunited with Eddy. Fiction based on fact, the story develops with the three brothers playing a pivotal role in each others lives and the war in its separate parts.