This opening part of the series tells the story of a close-knit group of friends from 3 Platoon, 1st Battalion Royal Anglian regiment, who were sent to Helmand province in 2007. For most of them it was their first experience of war.
The second episode focuses on a young platoon from the Grenadier Guards and their terrifying struggle with landmines, also known as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Captain Alex Rawlins filmed his men as they lost of one their mates, 23-year-old Guardsman Jamie Janes, who stood on a landmine during a patrol. The film shows how Jamie Janes's death became a turning point in the British public's awareness of the human cost of IEDs and how a misspelled letter turned into a political storm for the then prime minister, Gordon Brown.
Starting in 2009, the story of 2nd Battalion Princess of Wales regiment as it learns new rules of fighting brought in to protect civilians. By 2010 the war is very different.