Autumn 1940, in the desert on the border between Libya and Egypt. The protagonists of the story are a group of men that belong to the fighting elite of the British Army: the Long Range Desert Group, aka the Scorpions of the Desert. They come from every battlefield of the Empire, and they travel alone, on the edges of the great maneuvers. They appropriate jeeps, armored vehicles, camels; or they march for days on end before an attack, striking and disappearing behind the sand dunes without much regard for rules.
But everything is bewildering around here, the borders, the enemy’s uniforms, the colors and the flags on the vehicles used by these men. Sometimes whoever is telling a story doesn’t tell the whole truth. Only Vladimir Koïnsky, lieutenant of the Polish cavalry, stays right on track. Koïnsky has enrolled in the LRDG after leaving behind the Cracow disaster and fleeing across Romania and Persia. He is a cynic and an individualist, but he can see beyond the mirages and recognize a spy. Redheaded, tough, disfigured (and not just in the face), Koïnsky is among those characters who do not want to make history, but rather live from day to day facing risks straight on, and overcoming them, because tomorrow doesn’t matter when you have nothing to lose.