Having never left his Senegalese village before, Alfa Ndiaye is drafted into the French army during World War I. When his friend is fatally injured in battle, Alfa refuses to kill him and spare him an agonizing death in No Man's Land. Anxious to avenge the death of his friend and find forgiveness for himself, Alfa begins a macabre ritual: every night he sneaks across enemy lines to murder a blue-eyed German soldier. In this winner of the International Booker Prize, admiration for Alfa turns to dread, as his comrades realize that he is a man possessed.