Papua New Guinea men recount their experiences when war came to their islands in 1942. During three years a million Americans, 300,000 Japanese and nearly half a million Australians fought their way across the country. Cut into their memories are archival film sequences shot by Japanese, American and Australian cameramen and the songs and poems of black men and white writing about life and death in time of war. Now the men speak passionately of the white man’s promises, made to them in war and never kept in peace.