William Towers describes his experiences as a seriously wounded soldier in the autumn of 1917, when his life was threatened as much by the primitive medical practices of the Western Front, as by the shrapnel that hit him. From his injury, to his treatment in an underground hospital and at the Etaples military camp, to his eventual recovery after evacuation to Britain, Towers speaks movingly of the role of resilience, love and luck in his journey back home, and back to health.