In 1943, four Italian Alpini escape back to Italy after their company was decimated in Croatia by Yugoslav partisans. One of the four, Paolo, is seriously wounded and must undergo a leg amputation. The young man, embittered by his mutilation and the end of his soccer career, enlists in the fascist Brigate Nere. Once a member of the Brigate Nere, Paolo turns to evil and captures his former comrades, who must defeat him.