A five-part drama tracing the experiences of a group of Australians during the First World War who joined up for the 'great adventure' but found the reality both horrific and sobering. 1: The Great Adventure August 1914. When the mother country' declares war on Germany, the call goes out across Australia for men to fight for the Empire. It is answered by a group of men from different backgrounds with different aspirations for different reasons. In the eighth platoon of the Australian army they find comradeship and laughter as they train for the battlefields of France. But at the last moment Turkey enters the war and the Platoon is thrust into the hell of Gallipoli and given a new identity - the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps - the ANZACS.