In 1899, a French military column, led by Captains Julien Chanoine and Paul Voulet, set out to conquer Lake Chad in order to unite the French colonial empire. The two captains were violent and ruthless towards the local populations and their colonial soldiers. The Voulet-Chanoine mission sinks further and further into unknown Niger territory while the lack of food supplies is felt. Little by little, Voulet falls into a megalomaniac delirium.