All the evils and horrors of war, the brutalities of the soldiers, the men who seem to live only for fighting: this is the theme present in the author's war books: La Bataille, Il neigeait, L'Absent and Le Chat botté, all related to historical episodes of Napoleon's wars. In each of these works, the author creates at least one secondary character, who lives the events: this novel is dedicated to Napoleon's campaign in Russia, and how a military withdrawal turned into a disaster. However, despite writing about the brutality of the war, the author refrains from detailing scenes of violence.