Volker Schlöndorff spins a dark tale from the German occupation of France: in 1941, the Nazis killed 48 French prisoners, including 17-year-old Guy Môquet, as revenge for the murder of a German officer. In relating this true story, Schlöndorff uses farewell letters written by the prisoners before their executions, as well as a recently discovered report by Ernst Jünger and an early story by Heinrich Böll. The result is a stirring film - and a tribute to Môquet, a French national hero.