In July 1942, Japanese forces land on the northern coast of Papua with a bold objective: capture Port Moresby and isolate Australia from its allies. With an amphibious assault no longer possible after the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Japanese attempt the impossible — cross the rugged Owen Stanley Range via the Kokoda Track.

What follows is one of the harshest campaigns of the Second World War. Fighting through dense jungle, steep mountains, torrential rain, disease, exhaustion, and a determined enemy, Australian units battle to halt the Japanese advance.