It is Christmastime, 1914, and World War I rages. A young French soldier named Pierre who had quietly left his regiment to visit his family for two days is imprisoned when he returns. Now he faces execution for desertion, and as he waits in isolation, he meditates on big questions: the nature of patriotism, the horrors of war, the joys of friendship, the love of family, and how, even in times of danger, there is a whole world inside every one of us-and how sometimes that world is the only refuge.