For two generations, many Australians believed that the Menzies war-time government planned to surrender parts of Australia to the Japanese without firing a shot. The forfeiture of land was to be above a line drawn just north of Brisbane and this information was disclosed to a stunned public by the Labor Party halfway through 1943. That year, the ALP won a landslide electoral victory, ostensibly on the strength of these revelations. Even today, older Australians point to tank traps and the like in various parts of northern Australia that they firmly believe are physical evidence of this non-existent Brisbane Line.

This book tells the story behind the Brisbane Line controversy. That story is a tale of political deceit, manipulation, cowardice and betrayal by politicians on all sides for electoral gain, involving the shameless exploitation of public fears of Japanese invasion. It culminated in the callous scapegoating of innocent army officers whose only crime was their desire to defend their country in the most effective way possible. This is the reality behind one of the most enduring of Australian myths.