Denmark is enthused following the victories over the Prussians and Schleswig in 1851, and political forces are scheming to annex Schleswig into the Danish Kingdom – in utter disregard of all European treaties and despite how provocative it would be to Prussia.

Meanwhile, Laust and Peter grow up and fall in love with the adorable Inge, a well-read Proprietor’s daughter that lectures them on poetry, philosophy and women’s liberation! And Inge returns their love. She loves Peter for his sensitivity and intellect, and Laust for his strength and drive.

When the leader of the Danish parliament, Monrad, finally manages to carry the motion that Schleswig should be annexed, everybody knows war is coming. And seeing as Peter and Laust’s father died from wounds caused by a Prussian bullet in 1851, they quickly volunteer for the army.

In 2011 the unapproachable and maladjusted Claudia walks around in the same area. She lost her brother in the Iraq War and on the verge of a complete breakdown, she’s forced to accept a job as an aide for the 100-year-old Baron at the manor. Here Claudia discovers Inge’s forgotten diary that tells the story of Peter, Laust and Inge and a country erupting into war. A war that would become one of the bloodiest in European history – an unparalleled massacre – forged by political hubris and blunders. The story of thousands of Danish soldiers thrown to the lions when the Prussian and Austrian armies decimated the Danish troops in 1864.