"Put Les Darcy in a uniform and the men of Australia will march to hell
behind him."
That was the message Australia's great "Blacksmith Boxer" was getting,
as debate about conscription raged in the middle of World War I. The
problem was that Les Darcy didn't want to march at the fore of such a
procession, nor to such a destination. He wanted to continue what he had
been doing to extraordinary acclaim before the war began--taking on the
best boxers the world could throw at him, and lifting his entire family
out of poverty as he did so. Torn between the duty he felt he owed his
family, and the duty many felt he owed his country, Les made his choice
and faced the consequences.
And so unfolds a ballad of love, war, betrayal, mystery, patriotism, and
heroism; a ballad of a champion whose story still has the power to move
the stoniest heart.
