January 1918: Franz Becker, a high-scoring, decorated ace, rejoins his fighter squadron in Flanders. He has been fighting since October 1914, and is suffering badly from the strain of war. Imperial Germany is almost finished, strangled by the Allied blockade, its people starving. The country is running out of men and resources, but there is one last chance to win the war: Russia has made peace and the Americans have yet to arrive.

Franz and his fellow pilots know that they have to fight on, no matter how outnumbered they are, otherwise the enemy will be in Germany. The Spring takes a heavy toll of the top aces, and Franz knows that it will soon be his turn to go to the Great Army. His close friend Karl von Leussow is at home in Brandenburg, on convalescent leave after being shot down and badly wounded the summer before. Franz misses him desperately, but believes Karl to be safe. He can only hope that they will meet again, "after the war"... whenever that may be.

Spring turns to Summer and every German offensive fails, with terrible casualties. The Allied aircraft are ever more numerous, the new pilots are barely out of school, and most die within a couple of weeks. The ranks of the Great Army continue to grow. How many more men will die before peace is made?