A Greek tragic play centers on a veteran abandoned on a desolate island after suffering a festering, odorous wound, whose removal from the army creates moral and strategic dilemmas. Leaders send a cunning envoy and a young, honorable warrior to retrieve him because he possesses indispensable arms needed for victory. The drama follows attempts at persuasion and deception, the younger man's crisis between obedience and integrity, and the wounded man's prolonged suffering and resentment. A chorus and a divine intervention heighten the ethical questions, and the resolution negotiates compassion, duty, and the harsh necessities imposed by war.