From the bestselling author of A Bitter Harvest and Dragons in the Forest. Like many young and idealistic Australian men, Stephen Conway rushed to enlist in the 'war to end all wars' in 1914. After a hasty marriage, Stephen leaves his new wife with a baby on the way and is shipped to Gallipoli. Very soon, though, the promise of adventure and glory of battle vanish completely as the reality of war sets in. After four nightmarish years, Stephen is the lone survivor of his platoon fighting in the trenches of France's bloody battlefields. Traumatised and exhausted he inexplicably disappears and the official record of his life comes to an abrupt end - that is until his grandson, Patrick, discovers his diary more than 80 years later. This personal account of the horrors of World War I propels Patrick on a journey to uncover the truth of his grandfather's fate - which is more disturbing than he could have ever imagined. Set against true historical events, Barbed Wire and Roses deftly brings together past and present, ancestor and descendant, in a gripping tale of war and its aftermath. 'The master of the Australian historical blockbuster.' - DAILY TELEGRAPH