Seventy One

1971. Instead of being sent to Germany after the completion of basic training as they expect, Private Gary Hook and the rest of his regiment with the British Army are deployed early to Belfast, Northern Ireland, where tensions are rising between the Protestant Loyalists and the Catholic Republicans, the latter militarized under the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The regiment's task is largely to maintain the peace within the conflict while the local police do their job related to the conflict. Much of the populace, especially on the Catholic side, will not be happy to see the British Army intervention. While the regiment is dealing with a situation in Belfast that has the potential to escalate into a full blown riot, Hook, due to a specific incident within the situation, is separated from the rest of the regiment. He has to try to make his way back to the barracks on his own, which will be difficult as he doesn't have his bearings within the neighborhood, and as he knows a few young men in particular, they with the Provisional IRA, will shoot to kill him, those within the provisional army who are younger, and generally more willing to take extreme measures for the cause in their inexperience. In the process, Hook will find that many are caught in the middle in some form or another, some who do not believe in the conflict or the potential loss of life regardless of which side they fall on, and some who, despite their official positions, may take what may seem on the surface to be uncharacteristic measures, which may help or hinder Hook, all for their self-serving motives.