When Napoleon invades Russia in 1812, it forever changes those whose lives it engulfs. Although told on a panoramic scale Tolstoy's epic novel focuses on the chaos of battle, the horror of death and bloodshed, and the expression of the noble virtues of love and valour through their impact on the lives of three principal characters: the courageous Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, the idealistic Pierre Bezukhov and the nobly born beauty Natasha Rostov.