In the 17th century, during Spain’s conflict with Flanders, the courageous soldier Alatriste fights yet another senseless war, for nothing more than honour. His friend and comrade-in-arms Balboa, before dying after a fatal ambush by the Dutch, asks Alatriste to take care of his son Íñigo. Once back in Madrid, Alatriste finds a kingdom in runs, and court, that of Philip IV, ruled by deception and corruption and manipulated by Count Duque de Olivares. Returning to being a mercenary, Alatriste refuses to carry out a murderous order of the Holy Inquisition and from then on finds himself with enemies both in Madrid and in the cold lands of Flanders.