When the vast army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire marches on Belgrade in 1915, hundreds of Serbians are forced to evacuate in a mass exodus to Corfu during the worst Balkan winter in living memory. In the midst of the violence and the hardship each person struggles with their own pain in the face of countless atrocities, and the lives of a brave soldier and a patriotic medical orderly interweave. Stefan, brutalised by the horror and torn by loyalty to his men, and Ellen, burying the memory of women’s rotting corpses piled in a church.
With the weather closing in and the roads treacherous, Stefan leads the rear guard of the army in their efforts to help tens of thousands of civilians with dwindling food and supplies make the last push towards the Adriatic coast, while Ellen fights to keep them alive to see their sanctuary. In the most important journey of their lives, their survival depends on facing what they fear most.