Come What May (2016) Plot Summary Explained

The villagers faced evacuation because the German Army launched its relentless advance through the Ardennes region of Belgium and France on May 10, 1940. With the German forces advancing toward their small village, residents were caught in the path of the invading army and had to make the heart-wrenching choice between abandoning their homes or risking being caught in the chaotic crossfire of battle.

Foreshadowing: Earlier mentions of the German advance establish the looming threat that makes evacuation necessary.

• evacuation
• lebuquiere
• german army
• 1940
• ardennes
• ww2

Max became separated from his father Hans because Hans, a dedicated anti-Nazi dissident, was captured by French authorities shortly after the war began. While the villagers fled Lebucquière under Suzanne's guidance, young Max was left alone without his father, making him one of the most vulnerable members of the refugee group.

Foreshadowing: The timeline establishes that Hans was taken captive early in the war, before the evacuation even began.

• max
• hans
• father
• son
• separated
• capture
• anti-nazi

Hans is Max's father and a staunch anti-Nazi dissident who opposed the Nazi regime. He was captured by French authorities shortly after the war began in 1940. The French authorities detained him as a German national, even though his political beliefs opposed Hitler and the Nazi Party. This capture left his young son Max orphaned and alone amid the chaos of the village evacuation.

Foreshadowing: Hans's anti-Nazi stance establishes him as a sympathetic figure whose moral courage sets up his later escape.

• hans
• anti-nazi
• dissident
• captured
• french authorities
• max father

Hans managed to escape from captivity amidst the chaos of the Battle of Arras. When the fierce fighting erupted, many prisoners were abandoned in the deserted city as their guards fled or were overwhelmed by the rapid German advance. Taking advantage of this confusion, Hans escaped from his confinement and navigated through the war-torn area, free but still desperate to find his son.

Foreshadowing: The Battle of Arras creates the perfect conditions for escape, as the fighting overwhelms the prison guards.

• hans
• escape
• battle of arras
• captivity
• prison
• ww2

Hans teamed up with Percy, a Scottish officer, out of sheer desperation and mutual need. Both men found themselves alone after Hans escaped captivity and Percy's entire unit had been wiped out by German gunfire. Hans needed help finding his son Max, who had fled with the villagers, while Percy needed assistance securing a boat to return to England. Their shared desperation created an unlikely partnership bound by the goal of reuniting with their families.

Foreshadowing: Both characters are established as isolated individuals whose survival depends on cooperation.

• hans
• percy
• partnership
• scottish officer
• team up
• family
• reunion

Percy's primary motivation after surviving the Battle of Arras was to find a way back to England. His entire unit had been killed by German gunfire, leaving him as one of the few survivors wandering through the chaos of war-torn Europe. Unlike Hans, who searched for his son, Percy sought to escape the continent entirely and return home to his own family in Scotland.

Foreshadowing: Percy's lost unit establishes his urgent need to flee the war zone rather than continue fighting.

• percy
• scotland
• england
• unit killed
• battle of arras
• return home

Suzanne, a young teacher from Lebucquière, stepped forward to guide the villagers because she possessed valuable knowledge of the least congested escape routes. Her empathy and resourcefulness made her uniquely qualified to lead the refugee group through dangerous territory. Her dedication extended particularly to Max, ensuring the young German boy was not left behind despite the overwhelming chaos of the evacuation.

Foreshadowing: Suzanne's role as a teacher establishes her intelligence and community-minded character.

• suzanne
• guide
• teacher
• evacuation
• routes
• safe passage
• max

The two parallel narratives are connected through Max, the young German boy. While the villagers flee Lebucquière under Suzanne's guidance with Max among them, Hans escapes captivity and teams up with Percy specifically to find his son. Both groups are traveling through war-torn Europe with the same goal: reuniting Max with his father. Their fates remain intertwined as Hans and Percy's treacherous odyssey follows the same general direction as the villagers' flight toward safety.

Foreshadowing: Max's presence in both storylines creates the narrative thread that connects these separate journeys.

• parallel stories
• hans
• max
• percy
• villagers
• connection
• reunion