Even without the constant shelling and mortar attacks in the background and sometimes marking the end of a scene, there is a sense of danger in the interaction between the characters and in the situation. Inevitably this play covers some of the same ground as 'Journey's End', but we are not dealing here with public schoolboy officers. Spicer is in fact on the outer, not being in on the officer's circle. The two soldiers are privates and agricultural workers dominated by their Laird. The argument ranges around the rights and wrongs of war, the wisdom of the common soldier as opposed to the official version put out by the officers.
Characterisation is excellent and consequently the dialogue is economical and tight.