 Squall Leonhart is a cadet at Balamb Gardens, the West Point of the future. In his day-in-day-out life, the antisocial Squall must deal with regular adolescent angst, from his overbearing classmate Seifer, a sadist, to his instructor, the overly flirtatious femme fatale Quistis Trepe. Soon, though, Squall s days of teenage troubles end as he is flung into battle, being quickly promoted to a commanding officer to accomodate for lost soldiers as the peaceful city of Timber is invaded by forces of Galbadia, a military empire. The two dimensional plot is soon upped, however, as characters begin to develop along with the story - Squall s mysterious love Rinoa ends up as the former Timber princess, ousted from power and now a second rate terrorist; we delve into the lives of Zell, a loose cannon, and Selphie, a perky but deadly military cadet, both of whom are Squall s right-hand men. We also venture into the inner recesses of the themes of love and war as Squall and Rinoa get together, who is too engulfed in the war to care, and we get homefront and battleline views of all characters on both sides, and see what affects it has on all people.