In a small town during the post-Civil War era, a sergeant from an army regiment returns home after several years of service. Upon arriving, he finds a home stripped of the peace and joy it once knew. His family has been affected by the tensions and divisions left by the war, and the atmosphere feels tense and filled with resentment.
The sergeant tries to reestablish communication with his younger brother, who has become ensnared in radical political ideas, and his mother, who carries the weight of mourning and despair. Amidst the struggle to unite his family, the sergeant becomes embroiled in local politics, where veterans organize and confront those who support the old regime that has been dismantled.
As conflicts between local factions escalate, the sergeant becomes a bastion of hope and reconciliation. However, his military past and the scars left by the war begin to resurface, testing his ideals of loyalty and redemption. Through his journey, the sergeant seeks not only to restore peace in his home but also to leave behind the shadows of a violent past that threaten to destroy what he loves. With each decision, he faces the harsh reality that war does not end when one leaves the battlefield.