Winter of 1945

Aksel Foss, a Dane forced at gunpoint to fight in the German Army, flees Soviet tanks across the snow-bound fields of East Prussia. His goal: return to Denmark, and escape both the Russians and the dreaded SS who seek him for killing concentration camp guards.

Retreat and Conflict

Retreating through burning towns and cities, he engages in near-daily combat as he tries to save himself and his lover, a beautiful refugee woman who has lost her entire family in the war.