Alec Shorecross is 14 and has already left school to work in the local mine. He's paid 13 cents an hour to toil in the underground darkness. When war breaks out, Alec ships overseas in search of a different life and a way to contribute. He dreams of doing something heroic but soon Alec finds himself underground again. While soldiers and aircraft engage in battles on the ground and in the sky, down, deep below the surface Alec joins the invisible crew of combatants who risk their lives building tunnels so that they can place mines beneath enemy territory. This dramatic and realistic story shows us a little-known side of war and the role of one brave and determined young man.