During World War I, Harry Lambert reluctantly finds himself fighting on Europe's Western Front. Watching his friends die around him, Harry can't bear the thought of dying before ever having truly known love. Making a life-changing decision, he deserts, walking away from the battlefield into an unfamiliar and hostile French countryside. Desperately trying to avoid capture, he meets Colombe, a stoic farm-wife bowed by hard work and tragedy, who will risk everything to save his life.