Oh boy, I get to do the plot for A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway. Woohoo. :)

The story starts off with a group of guys sitting around making fun of a priest. After a while, Lt. Rinaldi is introduced, and he in turn introduces Frederick Henry (the main character) to Catherine Barkley, his love interest, who works in a hospital. Henry starts putting the moves on her.

Later on, he feels like deserting the Italian army, mainly because his group of ambulance drivers have broken up, and he doesn't feel any loyalty towards the war effort or the army. Some more fighting, yada yada yada, and Henry's feeling of safety on the Italian front is shattered by the constant shelling of Plava, where he is at this time. Henry gets injured, and is sent to the hospital, where he is visited by both Rinaldi and the priest. Henry is then moved to an American hospital in Milan, when Catherine is. Have he has sex with her, he realizes that he is in love with her. Eventually, Catherine gets her schedule changed so that she can spend more time with Henry. More yada yada yada, and we get to see how Catherine is afraid of the rain. She feels that rain is a symbol for death. When the couple parts, it is because Henry must get back to that darn war and Catherine is going to give birth to their child.

When Henry returns to the war, he notices how much the war has changed people. Rinaldi has changed somewhat, as well as everyone's attitudes shifting, as they are getting tired of the war. Have a short while, we (the 'royal' we, as you call it) are witness to a huge push from the Germans and Austrians against the Italians, forcing them to retreat.

After the retreat is when Henry deserts the army. He likes order and discipline. The lack of both of these is the reason that Henry deserts the disorderly, undisciplined Italian army. This is when he makes his "farewell to arms". Clever, huh?

After he deserts the army, he is assisted by several people, all of whom are tired of the war. He meets back with Catherine in Stresa, and they then head towards Switzerland. When they finally escape from Italy, they begin living a very nice life, nice and relaxed. But soon, the serenity is broken by Catherine's labor pains. In the end, after a Caesarean sesection (I think thats the full name; thats what my mom had for me, too), the baby dies, and then Catherine follows suit (yeah, a very insensitive way of putting it, I know). The book ends with him realizing that death really is the end of all things.