The declaration of the World War I forebodes horrors and suffering. This situation urges people to start taking action; the narrator is a member of the squad whose task is to dig front-line trenches. The company is rather diverse, for these men are of different age and backgrounds. The thing, which really unites them, is that they are mostly simple hand workers and farmers. People of the liberal professions usually get less dirty work. As if to make them suffer even more, they have to work under pouring rain and buckshot.
The war changes the pace of time. If the squad is not occupied with work, they wait. Cold and exhausted, they wait for a plate of soup. If it is not the food they wait for, it is news. To enhance discipline, the new order comes up with a list of penalties for looting.
Besides the strict order and exhausting work, the squad suffers from worsening of weather. A knocking wind and pouring rain fill trenches with water and rubbish. The conditions are unbearable to put up with, but tiredness and cold block disgust. Wrapping the heads with handkerchiefs, the squad stretches out on the straw and falls asleep. When night draws to a close, the sergeant vigilantly monitors that everyone comes out of the barn so that no one evades the work. Influence of the war becomes more visible. One of the soldiers is shot, for he tried to run away and refused to go into the trenches.
Being a native of Suchet, Potterlo wants to visit the village he used to live. Constant aerial bombardment prevents him from going. The man asks himself, what a reason of bombing the village is. The war starts looking completely sense deprived. At night, dead bodies are brought to the trenches. They lie there, waiting to be transferred to a cemetery. The whole place looks rather ghostly.
Winter comes to its end and first sunny days wake up fragile hope in hearts of the squad, for they believe that the war is going come to its end eventually too. Although their future is uncertain, their present is clearly defined. They have to go to the trenches. One day, when the squad works in the open fields, they notice flashes. When bright light is replaced with a loud roar, they understand that it is a rocket. The enemy shoots and the world immerses in devilish noise.
Explosions and quick spread of poison gas make the squad to leave the trenches. It is a question of a life and death. Shooting or a bomb can easily take their lives away. The battle begins. As unexpectedly as it starts, the fighting abates. The Germans lose control over the situation. A close encounter with the enemy shows the squad that they have a lot in common. Political games make people commit crimes for nation’s or country’s sake.
