In a remote military fort, a young lieutenant joins a group of soldiers tasked with defending a desolate and nearly forgotten territory. The place, surrounded by an arid and inhospitable landscape, becomes the backdrop of his life, where days slide between routine and monotony. The trouble begins when the lieutenant, driven by aspirations of glory and an unyielding desire to prove his worth, becomes obsessed with tales of a supposed invasion by the feared Tartars, a mysterious enemy that never seems to arrive.
As time goes on, the protagonist plunges into solitude and melancholy, watching his fellow soldiers, who, trapped in their own existences, find ways to escape reality: some surrender to the routine, others cling to illusions of a past life, and some simply resign themselves to the relentless passage of time.
The plot entangles itself in reflections on life, war, and unfulfilled expectations, while the lieutenant yearns for something more than the insignificant routine of his stay at the fort. However, the arrival of a mysterious warning about an imminent attack rekindles old hopes and fears, revealing the eternal struggle between the pursuit of glory and the acceptance of an uncertain fate. With a stunning visual backdrop, the film becomes a deep meditation on the nature of honor, waiting, and inevitable resignation.