'Sometimes my mind reaches back, beyond the far and the arid landscapes of war, to memories of childhood that fill me with happiness and laughter.'

Considered to be among the finest infantrymen in the world, the Gurkhas are proud, brave warriors who have seen combat across the globe. In five tours of active service in Afghanistan that involved dangerous resupply missions and offensive patrols that took them to the heart of the 'killing zone', Captain Kailash Limbu and his men of the 2nd Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles came under frequent attack from Taliban fighters. Captain Limbu lost several friends and colleagues from the close-knit Gurkha brotherhood, and on many occasions feared he himself would not live to see the end of the day. His means of coping with the trauma of conflict was to travel back to his childhood in a remote Himalayan village in Nepal. But even there, amid the simplicity of mountain life, danger and tragedy lurked...

In this searingly honest memoir, Captain Limbu celebrates his Gurkha heritage, relates remarkable stories of courage, and confronts demons that have shaped but not broken him.

'A humane and gripping book which proves beyond doubt why the Gurkhas are known as such formidable warriors.'

SIR RANULPH FIENNES