Germany, Toter Garten, 1944. The flames of the Second World War have engulfed Europe, no longer sparing the German people. In a quiet town away from chaos of battle is a young German teen, Franz Henkel, who desperately tries to find his way into adulthood in a world gone mad for violence. He and his comrades man their outpost, watching the sky vigorously, dreading the day when the war comes to them. But fortunately that day is not now. For now he tries to enjoy the peace afforded to him and comes to know the town and its people for which it is entrusted to his defense. Drama, romance, violence is the reality of this story and he will experience all of them. He asks himself constantly; will he make it in a war where men die young?