March, 1918. C-company arrives to take its turn in the front-line trenches of norther France, led by the war-weary Captain Stanhope (Claflin). With a German offensive imminently approaching, the officers (Bettany, Graham, Sturridge) and their cook (Jones) use food and the memories of their lives before the war to distract themselves, while Stanhope soaks his fear in whisky, unable to deal with the dread of the inevitable. A young officer, Raleigh (Butterfield), arrives fresh out of training and abuzz with the excitement of his first real posting - not least because he is to serve under Stanhope, his former school house monitor and the object of his sister's affections. Each man is trapped, the days ticking by, the tension rising and the attack drawing ever closer...