During World War II, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward 'Weary' Dunlop was working as an army doctor in a hospital in Java. When Australilan troops were captured by the Japanese, Weary and his men became prisoners-of-war and were forced to build a railway through the jungles of Thailand. The living and working conditions were horrific. Throughtout the darkest days on the Burma-Thailand Railway, Weary Dunlop was a beacon of hope for his fellow prisoners and saved many lives.