About the title
A stern Colonel Joll arrives with his soldiers in a remote southern town on the border of an unnamed Empire. He has been ordered to crush even the slightest hint of rebellion among the desert's native inhabitants, known as the "barbarians." The colonel goes about his task thoroughly and brutally. Investigating vague rumors of an uprising, he communicates with the captured natives only through violence. Witnessing the torture and killings is the town's local official — a courteous, good-natured magistrate who sees no threat in the native population. After growing close to one of the tortured captives, the magistrate finds the strength to stand against the Empire's machine of repression...