The soldiers Michael and Peter go off to war. Michael says goodbye to his wife, Sarah, and their daughter, Nadia, while Peter says goodbye to his pregnant wife, Anna.
Since their helicopter is shot down by the enemy, Michael and Peter are presumed dead. A memorial service is held for them. The tensions in Michael’s family come to the surface when his father makes it clear he preferred him to his younger brother, Jamie. The father would rather his younger son to have died than Michael.
Jamie wakes Sarah up in the middle of the night, drunk and bleeding after a fight. Sarah, reluctant at first, helps him to clean his wound. They argue fiercely, then proceed to share their grief for Michael. They embrace, holding on to each other like two drowning people.
But Michael has in fact survived the crash and returns. Anna, who has now given birth, hopes this means Peter might also return. Michael’s Colonel talks to him and asks him about the other missing soldiers. Michael claims he didn’t see any other survivors, as he was held captive by the enemy.
Michael seems alienated and finds it hard to adjust to everyday life. Nadia complains to her mother about her father’s strange behaviour. Jamie helps to fix Nadia’s swing, and it is clear he has become close to Sarah. Michael expresses jealousy and anger towards Jamie and Sarah, and he reacts violently when Nadia doesn’t obey him.
After losing control once again and bursting out at Sarah, Michael tries to confess to the Colonel that he saw Peter alive, but the Colonel asks him to keep silent and stop tormenting himself. At the same time, Sarah turns up at Jamie’s place. They long for each other.
At Nadia’s birthday party, Michael finally blows up completely. He leaves to look for Anna, but can’t bring himself to confess what happened to Peter before he himself was rescued. As Michael returns to the party, he sees Peter’s ghost, and finally confesses that he was forced to kill Peter in order to save himself.