根据弗朗西斯·扎姆波尼的小说改编。1995年,陆军退役上校拉乌尔·杜普朗在其巴黎住所被人暗杀,头部中了一弹。办案人员接到匿名人士的一封信,信中宣称:“上校死在圣阿尔诺”。 1957年,在阿尔及利亚东部的圣阿尔诺,年轻的军事法官基·罗西在杜普朗上校的手下办案。他在虐刑拷打和特别权力机构全速开动的机器中变成了刽子手,40年后,杜普朗上校遭到了报应。A "Reformed Colonel" is found dead in Paris, a couple of decades after Algeria's struggle for independence was won from France. Lieutenant Galois is assigned the investigation of this murder. She receives the diary of Lieutenent Guy Rossi who served under The Colonel in Algeria in 1956, and has been reported as missing in action since 1957. The revelations found in Rossi's diary go far beyond The Colonel's actions in Algeria, and give an insight on how dirty Algeria's War for Independence really was.