The end of World War II is in sight and the social structure of Germany lies in tatters. As the Wehrmacht's morale begins to deteriorate and regiments begin to disintegrate, the number of deserters climbs so dramatically that any soldier found separated from his company may be shot as a traitor. Anarchy and arbitrary murder completely replace law and order. One band of officers hunts down a 19-year-old private. Willi Herold bolts through the woods. By sheer luck, he escapes from his hunters and goes to ground – pursued by the local farmers he steals from to survive and by his fellow soldiers who want him dead – through the bleak and barren moors of the Ems river estuary.