War is brutal—but some lines should never be crossed. In mid-2017 whispers of executions and cover-ups within Australia's most secretive and elite military unit, the SAS, reached Walkley Award-winning journalist Nick McKenzie. He and Chris Masters began an investigation that would not only reveal shocking truths about Ben Roberts-Smith VC but also plunge the reporters into the defamation trial of the century.
For five years McKenzie led the investigation, waging an epic battle for the truth to be acknowledged. His fight to reveal the real face of Australia's most famous and revered SAS soldier and examine evidence of bullying, intimidation, war crimes, and murder would take him across Australia and to Afghanistan. As he unearthed the secrets Ben Roberts-Smith had thought he'd long ago buried, McKenzie had to deal with death threats, powerful forces intent on destroying his career, and attempts to silence brave SAS soldiers, who had witnessed their famous comrade commit unspeakable acts.
McKenzie would break the stories that proved the man idolised by the public, politicians, media, and leading business leaders was a myth. His efforts would help deliver justice to Roberts-Smith's victims and their families.