So far so good! Four episodes in and this is an interesting drama. It really is a showcase for the lead actor Zhang Han, but has strong secondary roles for Liu Haikuan (as childhood friend Peng Xue Wen) and Liu Chang De (as another childhood friend Liao Wen Hua)

Another delight is veteran actor Chin Shih Chieh (a former Opera Star) who becomes a mentor to the lead character.

The story goes at a fast pace, the costuming is fairly good and the cinematography better than your usual drama fare, they took their time in filming on location and battle scenes.

A new synopsis to the series should be as follows - Zhang Songling is a student in a rural village, he and his best friends, brother and sister Peng Xue Wen and Peng Wei Wei and Liao Wen Hua are filled with patriotic fevour at the beginning of the Japanese invasion of China in 1937, their attempts to leave the village with fellow students to fight in the war are met with tragedy. The four friends once separated, have to find their own way through the crisis.