André Demester divides his simple life between his family farm and his girl Barbe, his love since childhood. Although Barbe eludes him, he wants nothing more than for his life to continue in the same way. Desires and dreams, however, can soon complicate even the most straightforward existence, and Demester and other young men of his age find themselves far from home – in the middle of a hot desert in a foreign war after enlisting as soldiers for the money. His new world is formed by fear, violence and rough male comradeship. How far is a human being able and willing to go in slaughter and self-destruction? What will war make of an ordinary country boy? And what happens when he comes home and tries to take up his old life again, and his relationship to sensitive Barbe, who is both appalled and fascinated by his transformation? With its naturalistic depiction of violence and its mythical overtones, this is a riveting story in which director Bruno Dumont has made effective use of non-professional actors.