In Algeria, Youcef escapes from a mental institution located close to the desert. He used to be a fighter and he thinks, years later, that he is still a prisoner of the French army. He goes to what he believes is the maquis. He finds the bones of his comrades, buries them and promises he will visit their families, one after the other, to honor them. He settles in illegally and makes quick trips to the villages. He is struck by what he sees. Young people standing in line to get some bread, the former FLN leaders living in the colonists' villas and farm workers being abused by Algerian supervisors. As for the women, even though they played a major role in the country's liberation, they are new housebound or forced to hide their faces. When the authorities find him, it will be unbelievable for Youcef to realize that thirty years have gone by. He will have to be eliminated...