French Army colonel Raspeguy leads his paratroopers in battle against the Communist Viet Minh in Indochina and against Algerian guerrillas during the Algerian War.

In 1954 during the final days of French military involvement in Indochina French Army colonel Pierre-Noel Raspeguy is leading his paratroopers in the decisive battle of Dien Bien Phu. A weakened French garrison faces a major assault by Communist Viet Minh troops. Colonel Raspeguy's frantic calls for reinforcements only brings a token force of a planeload of paratroopers and ammunition. When their position is overrun by the enemy Raspeguy and his men are taken prisoners. After the peace treaty they are released and they return to France where Colonel Raspeguy receives the command of a new airborne regiment bound for Algeria. The French are trying to prevent Algeria from obtaining full independence from France. The French army is engaged in counter insurgency operations in both urban and rural environments against the Algerian guerrilla led by the Algerian National Liberation Front. This is Colonel Raspeguy's last chance to prove his command abilities and to save his military career.—nufs68

The French government turns its attentions to dealing with the shouts of independence from the local populace in Algeria, led by guerrillas, after the French are driven out of Indochina in the mid-1950s. Lt. Col. Pierre Raspeguy, who led a paratrooper unit in Indochina, loses his command in his open mistrust of his superiors, but is given the new assignment of leading the 10th Regiment in Algeria largely on the strength of the respect of the men in his unit as documented by the unit's historian, Capt. Philippe Esclavier, and Raspeguy's new relationship with Countess Nathalie de Clairefons, widowed when her general husband was killed in Indochina. Raspeguy accepts the assignment, which will consist largely of "reject" soldiers, only on the condition that his officers from Indochina are allowed to join him, which not only includes Esclavier, but Indochina-born Capt. Boisfeuras. Who will not be joining them is Lt. Mahidi. He, an Arab from Algeria, who is leading one of the guerrilla units based in the Atlas Mountains in being disgusted with what he saw perpetrated by the French in his homeland. Beyond upholding the French ideals, Raspeguy is aiming to get promoted to general to be able to marry the countess. Raspeguy may find that Mahidi may not be his biggest problem but rather maintaining the peace within his own regiment, especially between himself, the more cerebral Esclavier, and Boisfeuras, who seems to relish killing and torture. Things get even more complex when they are assigned to duty in Algiers in controlling the insurgents who are carrying out bombings in the city, they are unofficially ordered by General Melies to violate the legal rights of the populace in carrying out their duties. However, the bigger issue may be Esclavier's new relationship with a young Arab woman, Aicha, whom he does not know is Mahidi's sister and that she is working with the insurgents.—Huggo