The novel follows soldiers and civilians caught in a catastrophic military campaign, depicting marches, encampments, battles, chaotic retreats, and the collapse of command and civil order. It concentrates on immediate sensory detail and interpersonal reactions—exhaustion, solidarity, fear, and petty rivalries—while widening to scenes of mass confusion and institutional failure. The narrative moves through successive phases of mobilization, defeat, and aftermath, using close observation and panoramic episodes to examine the physical hardship and moral consequences of large-scale military disaster.