Casca and his unit then rejoins the main army and they receive new recruits before they invade Russia. The two new men, Bausset and Begos, fit into the group made up of Casca, Paradis, Fabvier, Muralt and their corporal, Auvrey. At night, Casca rescues a Polish woman who was about to be killed by an unidentified man, and the woman, Marianka, decides to remain under Casca's protection. But not far away, the man who paid for her murder sends out his son to do the job properly and also to dispose of Casca at the same time.
Marianka becomes a sutler, finding a horse and provisions, and the army crosses into Russia, but the enemy retreats rather than give battle. Casca fights off three poachers from Marianka's new 'shop'. After a freak rainstorm, they finally get to fight the Russians in a skirmish, and Casca has to help the inexperienced Paradis and Begos through it. The others appear to have no trouble at all.
Bausset tries to get provisions on the cheap but Casca forces him to pay like everyone else but the man silently vows to get even. At HQ a new Polish officer, Wolinski, turns up to help the French through to Moscow. Casca is sent to scout out ahead of the army and runs into a Cossack patrol, killing most of them and earning the emnity of their leader, Iuganov.
Marianka now has a wagon and her cafe attracts the officers, including Wolinski. The Pole offers to take her under his wing but Casca refuses. Then, at Borodino, the French and Russian armies finally clash and Casca and his men fight into the village but are eventually chased out by reinforcements. While resting, the Cossacks attacka nd the men form squares to fight them off. Casca and Iuganov clash but the Cossack is carried off to safety as Casca seems to gain the upper hand. After the battle Casca discovers that Marianka's assistant, a young girl, has been murdered.
They get to Moscow and Casca muses on Marianka's story that her family had lost their lands to Russian supporting Poles, and she was being hunted because she'd got hold of a list of Poles sympathetic to Russia. At night, the city catches fire and Casca and his men help to rescue treasures from the houses. Wolinski repeats his request to take Marianka under his wing.
During their stay in Moscow, Casca gets Auvrey to make fur coats. Casca knows the winter is coming. He stores them with Marianka and when they leave, it is late autumn. The Russian army tails them and Casca's unit has to clear out a town where the road crosses a river. In the vicious fight Auvrey is killed. Their general, Delzons, is also killed. The retreat begins and Casca realises they are going back along the same route as they came.
The Cossacks begin to terrorise the stragglers and tales of atrocities grow. Iuganov wants Casca and sends out his men to find him. The retreating French pass through Borodino where the corpses still lie. Then the Russians get amongst the baggage but Casca drives them off before Marianka is hurt. But to get to Vyazma they have to run the gauntlet of Russian cannons. They make it but many of their comrades don't. They hold off the Russian attack on the city before retreating.
The snow begins, and they crowd around the eagle carried by Sergeant Cannard. At a river crossing the Cossacks close in and most of the equipment is lost, including Marianka's wagon and provisions, but they get to Smolensk, except Begos has gone missing. Casca turns round to go find him. Finally he does but has to kill some of Iuganov's men to do so, and Iuganov vows to personally kill Casca. In Smolensk they commandeer a house and fight off renegades and brigands. When they leave they head for Krasnoye but are blocked by a vastly superior Russian force. In the fight that follows first Muralt, then Paradis get killed. In the aftermath the French find a route around the Russians at night and get to safety.
The next morning the company commander, Colonel Pegot, ties the eagle to his back and leads the few survivors westwards but Iuganov and his Cossacks close in, but before htey can attack the French once more get to safety, this time the town of Orsha. That night Marshal Ney and his men reach the camp and are welcomed by Casca and the rest which raises morale. But while on the road west of Orsha, Iuganov closes in and Casca fights them off, allowing Begos and Marianka to escape before he gets to the safety of a wood. But when Casca gets back to the rest they learn Minsk has fallen and now they have to get to the Berezina river and cross it at Borisov.
Before they can get therem though, the Cossacks attack again and Marianka is killed. Casca slays Iuganov in single combat and the Cossacks retreat to bury their leader, allowing the French to get away. But Borisov has fallen and the army now has to find a way across the river. They head north to a small village and hold off the Russians long enough for a bridge to be built and they cross, the way clear now to Vilnius. During the journey Wolinski confronts Casca and reveals he is the man who has been after Marianka, and he wants the paper with the spies names on them that Casca took from Marianka, but Casca cuts him down and hands the document over to the Polish commander, Poniatowski.
After reaching Vilnius Fabvier deserts and only Begos remains with Casca. Begos helps Casca identify the 'Rose' and Casca confronts Bausset who tries to kill Casca but dies, and Casca takes the stolen icon from him. However, since he killed a Frenchman in front of witnesses, Casca is sentenced to death. Before he's shot, he gets Begos to promise to leave the icons on his body and put him in a church. Finally, the scene jumps to 1943 and Casca as Carl Langer returns the two icons to the ruins of the Polish church.
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