The year is 1882, and British army officer Harry Feversham has a loving fiancee, the friendship of fellow soldiers, and a promising future in a nation at the height of its imperial power. But before he is deployed to fight in Africa, he resigns his post, receiving white feathers-symbols of cowardice-from three friends. Then he receives a fourth from his fiancee. How can he prove that he has acted from integrity rather than cowardice?