Japan, summer 1945, in the countryside, the heat is crushing. Far from the din of war, a mischievous kid, Hiroo [寛郎], plays, carefree, with his mother. A military vehicle bursts into their world and abruptly brings them back to reality. Two soldiers emerge from the cloud of dust kicked up by their vehicle. Hiroo, whose father died on the field of honor, sees in them figures evoking the paternal image while they only see in him cannon fodder.