Much of the winter battle on the Donets has left little of Colonel Metzelbrod's regiment. The group is getting smaller, but the number of wounded is increasing. To save these and the remnants of the regiment, Metzelbrod decides to abandon the base, which the enemy repeatedly assaults with vastly superior forces. Against higher orders, the retreat is initiated. This marks the beginning of the report given by Lieutenant Emser, Metzelbrod's adjutant, about the events that now inevitably and inescapably unfold for an officer who, standing between orders and conscience, chooses conscience. A book about war and against war.