Arnout Hauben and cameraman Jasper start their adventure in Vrasene. There was tension there two centuries ago when the draws were announced for Napoleon's army. Joseph Abbeel's name is also drawn. Because he is very large, he ends up with the carabiniers on horseback. He is there with that elite unit when Napoleon invades Russia. His diary is the sobering account of an exhausting campaign. Because day after day it becomes clearer that the planned triumphal procession turns out completely differently. Arnout and Jasper leave Moscow through the snow. They follow the route of Napoleon's army that retreated defeated. They meet an old colonel with a special story, cross snow-covered battlefields, but warm up again with a warm Cossack welcome.