Captain Stanhope, a British troop commander, becomes psychologically overwhelmed by the unending spectacle of death around him. After three years in the trenches he finds no point to the constant battles and can no longer bear the thought of sending more young men into the trenches to die. He bolts down whiskey to ease his inner pain and guilt. This leads to constant verbal battles with Lieutenant Raleigh, the second-in-command. The young and green officer starts to doubt the competence of his superior, who was once his school-hero idol. The captain becomes aware of this and starts fearing that the rest of his men will also lose hope and respect for him.