Set Before And During The Great War, Birdsong Captures The Drama Of That Era On Both A National And A Personal Scale. It Is The Story Of Stephen, A Young Englishman, Who Arrives In Amiens In 1910. Over The Course Of The Novel He Suffers A Series Of Traumatic Experiences, From The Clandestine Love Affair That Tears Apart The Family With Whom He Lives, To The Unprecedented Experiences Of The War Itself.