Honour

Two families take up acreage as early settlers in Australia. The Parnham family in the lush blue Ribband area west of Sydney around Parramatta where they grow their wealth from fine merino wool. The ensuing generations continued to derive wealth from the station and diversify into the legal profession, property development and the early politics of NSW and later as respected members of the Country Party.

The Cuthbertson family settle further north in the heat and dust of south west Queensland outside of Longreach raising sheep and cattle.

World War Two intervenes and the sons of both families enlist to do their patriotic duty and through a series of disconnected events each will have a massive impact on the lives and futures of their families. Lawrence Parnham as an officer in the 55th Battalion sees active duty in New Guinea during the Battle of Milne Bay and returns to Australia as a wounded hero awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry. However a negative report against Parnham has been despatched to Brisbane by air.

Big Bill Cuthbertson joins the RAF and sees action in the air war over Britain and Europe flying Bristol Beaufighters the famous 'Whispering Death.' On his secondment to Australia he fights in New Guinea at Milne Bay with 30th Squadron RAAF. Big Bill is pulled from the combat zone to fly top secret dispatches back to Brisbane and disappears over bushland in southern Queensland. Fifty years later his grandson performing a commemorative flight in honour of his grandfather crashes his plane in the same area and during his rescue his grandfather's plane is discovered with its top secret dispatches intact.

The contents of these dispatches will have a seismic impact on one family destroying reputations and threatening the stability of the ruling government.