Over 10,000 men, women, and children were placed on farms in Australia during the 1920s as part of the soldier plan after World War II. Of the 12,000 families settled in Victoria, a majority failed to establish themselves, and the cost of this ill-conceived plan was enormous, both to the people and the state. This innovative social history focuses on the experiences of the settlers as they struggled against appalling conditions to make ends meet and maintain their dignity.