USMC Sergeant Christian Ellis was a machine gunner in Iraq, whose platoon was ambushed, leaving him with a broken back and only one of a few survivors. Ellis returned home to join millions of Americans who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder. Ellis inspired the first opera about the Iraq war with a score composed by Tobin Stokes, a libretto by Iraqi-American Heather Raffo, and produced by the Long Beach Opera. This documentary explores how the experience of war is transformed into a work of art.