La Plume Book One of de Jure

Richard (Dick) Young is a Cessnock coal miner at the outbreak of World War I, but unlike his peers, he holds serious reservations about volunteering. Electing not to enlist, he suffers much ridicule and abuse. When two of his best friends are killed and another is reported missing at Gallipoli, his community erupts and Richard is forced to leave, rather than suffer the outrage directed at him. Based on his own beliefs of what is fair and just, he wanders aimlessly, eventually finding his way into the French trenches and skies. Following the war, he chooses to remain in Paris, but later travels to America before ultimately returning to Australia, after facing many difficulties along the way.