In the Great Wars a new battle is fought every week. Soldiers perish like mayflies, while friend and foe change more often than fashions in Paris. Struggling to survive amid the chaos is Tortot, the finest army cook in the land. With only his pots and pans and his flask of Eternal Soup he can magic up mouthwatering meals from the dullest of ingredients. But as well as being a genius in the kitchen, he also has an uncanny knack for saving his own skin, and people say he has a heart as cold as a fish at the bottom of the ocean. Then one day, Tortot finds a surprise hiding in a barrel of gherkins - a boy soldier who has lost both his brothers and his legs in battle, and who begs the cook not to give him away. Can Tortot find it within his cold heart to help? This is a deeply moving and beautifully illustrated tale of friendship and the absurdity of war.