The Deserter opens its curtains to a shadowy chamber within a grand European chateau, nestled in the waning days of 1945. Here, a soldier and a sergeant step into the dimness, their footsteps echoing through the silence as they engage in a protracted dialogue that lays the foundation of the story. The exchange is shrouded in mystery, with truths unraveling at a deliberate pace. The sergeant, in a measured tone, informs the soldier of his dwindling time—an hour, no more. The soldier, embracing his fleeting moments, requests permission to pen a letter. Their conversation twists and turns, touching upon the soldier's tainted past and the grim uncertainty of his wife's future without his pension as he faces the firing squad. The soldier speaks wistfully of his wife, reminiscing about their early days of struggling before life crumbled under the weight of his conscription. As they probe into the matter of his desertion, the soldier recounts the fateful separation from his unit and his ill-fated attempt to leave upon rejoining them. Seeking solace, he asks to converse with a Catholic priest; the sergeant assures him that such a meeting is imminent. With a few hastily gathered sheets of paper and a pen, the soldier pours his heart into a letter to his wife. He confesses his impending execution for desertion but bravely admits he would choose to flee again if given the chance, for the horrors of war are boundless. He implores her to remain resilient and to periodically send letters to his incarcerated brother.

Arrival of Father Murray

The narrative shifts as a Catholic priest, Father Murray, enters the scene, prompting the sergeant to depart. The soldier, seeking spiritual absolution, expresses his desire for confession. Father Murray, with a gentle nod, improvises a confessional in the austere room. The soldier lays bare his soul, enumerating his sins with desertion at the forefront. Listening intently, Father Murray probes the soldier's motivations, hearing a tale of fear that compelled him to flee. The soldier reveals the burden of his brother's imprisonment, a consequence of a botched robbery ending in death. Haunted by the words of his hometown priest, Father Hart, who preached the sanctity of life, the soldier has since found himself unable to wield a weapon. Father Murray reassures him that the rules bend in the chaos of war. Together, they recite the sacred prayers—an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and a Glory Be—as penance. The sacrament of a communion wafer follows, sealing his contrition. They converse about the looming execution, with Father Murray guiding the soldier's thoughts towards the celestial paradise awaiting him, not the swift demise that will usher him there. The sergeant returns, signaling that the moment of reckoning has arrived. The soldier and the priest, side by side, step into the world beyond, leaving the sergeant behind in the solitude of the empty room. Alone, the sergeant seeks solace in a solitary drink, as the staccato of gunfire punctuates the silence, and the curtain descends, marking the soldier's final act.