Egged on by romantic dreams of heroism, Paul Baumer and his friends Albert and Muller voluntarily enlist in the German army. Full of excitement and patriotic fervour, the boys enthusiastically march into a war they believe in. But once on the Western Front, they discover the soul-destroying horror of World War I. Paul’s preconceptions about the enemy and the rights and wrongs of the conflict crumble. On the countdown to Armistice, Paul must carry on fighting until the end, with no purpose other than to satisfy the top brass' desire to end the war on a German offensive. His fight is a harrowing account of the futility and irony of war.