In another time and another place, they could have been lovers. but in 1970s Northern Ireland, they must fight each other to the death. It is 1978, the height of the Troubles, and flame-haired beauty, Mairead O'Connell, teaches children at the local primary school deep in south Armagh's 'Bandit Country', where British soldiers fear to tread. One such soldier is Martin Strong. Posted in nearby Crossmaglen with his teenage mates from peaceful England, he is thrown headfirst into a world of peril and violence he cannot understand. He instantly falls for the charms of the Irish redhead, but when it turns out that Mairead is a wanted member of an IRA Active Service Unit, Strong's allegiances and his passions are tested to their limits. Bandit Country is a gripping adventure firmly rooted in the wild countryside and rural towns of war-torn Ulster. A tale of loyalty and treachery, love and war, it twists and weaves through the dramatic lives of the combatants all the way to a breathtaking finale.