Alpha Ndiaye and Madembe Diop are Senegalese soldiers fighting on France’s side during World War I. When Madembe is seriously wounded in battle, he begs Alpha to kill him and spare him a long, painful death.
Unable to carry out this killing, Alpha begins to go mad: he talks to God and blames himself for cowardice. Seeking revenge for his friend’s death and trying to find forgiveness for himself, he stages a dreadful ritual: every night he sneaks through the front lines to kill a soldier from the enemy side and returns to base with a trophy—the severed hand. At first his comrades regard Alpha’s feats with admiration, but soon rumors spread that this super-soldier isn’t a hero at all—he’s a sorcerer, a devourer of souls. Plans are made to remove Alpha from the front and end his growing collection of hands, but is it even possible to negotiate with a demon? And how far is Alpha willing to go to atone for his guilt toward the friend who is already dead?