1840, Hendrik Conscience receives an offer from king Leopold I to write a history of Belgium.
1830, the Belgian Revolution erupts in Brussels. A young Hendrik Conscience enlists in the Belgian army.
1830, Conscience has fallen ill on a winter campaign and is taken care of by a farmer's family.
1832, in the army Conscience clashes with the strict captain Turk.
1833, during his military service, Conscience decides to become a poet.