After experiencing the pointless slaughter at the front during World War I, two French officers, Michel Hassan and Allain Rennaut, struggle to come to terms with life during and after the war. Hassan is an artist and captain of the Moroccan Battalion. His lieutenant, Rennaut, is an Army outlaw that survives by breaking all the rules. Both men look at life from drastically different perspectives, yet the war inexplicably binds them together.

Their journey takes them through the bucolic European countryside, gripping battle scenes, the nascent postwar Dada art scene, and the founding of a Parisian bakery. Along the way, two remarkable women capture their hearts. Their postwar paths are different, yet they arrive at the same question: can they find healing from the deep wounds of war?