The German Eastern Front during the Second World War: so-called "Soldiers on parole" are combined in one unit, the Penalty Battalion 999. Their misdeneanours are of various natures: one man did not return to his unit on time, another did not follow unscrupulous orders, yet another supposedly mutilated himself in order to escape the draft. Once in the penalty battalion, the assignments and the superior officers are brutal. The men are sent to the most dangerous battle fronts, they are asked to de-mine without equipment, and no one balks at leaving them without weapons if a hasty retreat is in order.