In a gesture of goodwill Willem Albert Van Komen takes his friend's military lottery position in 1880's Netherlands, a time of peace, or is it? This simple choice spirits Willem Albert across the ocean to foreign people, culture, and survival. Will disease, discouragement, or despair destroy him first. Willem Albert discovers what it takes to become a real hero by suffering through unexplained twists of fate and the support of unexpected people. The question is, in the end, what will he choose to do?