The following version of this book was used to create this guide: De Bernières, Louis. Birds Without Wings. Vintage, 2007.

The majority of the novel is set in Eskibahçe, Anatolia, which is a small town in the Ottoman Empire. Narrated in both third and first person, and by multiple characters, the novel begins with the birth of Philothei in 1900. A man named Iskander the Potter comments that Philothei is the most beautiful baby girl he has ever seen. As Philothei grows up, she strangely becomes best friends with Drosoula, who is known for her lack of beauty. At six years old, a neighborhood boy named Ibrahim declares he will one day marry Philothei.

Flashing back to the year 1881, a boy named Mustafa Kemal is born in Salonika, Macedonia. As he grows up, his mother enrolls him in both a Muslim and Christian school, which develops his resentment of religion. Eventually, Mustafa enrolls in a military school.

Back in Eskibahçe, two young boys named Abdul, who is a Muslim, and Nicos, who is a Christian, receive bird whistles from Iskander. They receive nicknames based on the birds depicted on their whistles, and become known as Karatavuk and Mehmetçik. As their friendship grows, Mehmetçik begins teaching Karatavuk to read and write.

Another resident in Eskibahçe, a landlord named Rustem Bey, finds himself unhappily married to a woman named Tamara. When he discovers Tamara has been having an affair, he has her publicly stoned. The town’s imam, Abdulhamid Hodja, saves Tamara. The imam's wife, Ayse, eventually takes Tamara to the town’s brothel for sanctuary.

Rustem Bey travels to Istanbul to purchase a mistress, which is where he meets Leyla. Though he is told she is Circassian, Leyla is actually a Greek woman named Ioanna. Leyla is brought to Eskibahçe, where she promptly requests that Philothei be her maid. Rustem soon finds himself happy with Leyla, and Leyla finds herself resenting the fact that she is only a mistress and not a wife.

In the army, Mustafa is transferred to Istanbul when the Ottoman Empire suddenly goes to war. Italians attack Istanbul, and Serbs, Greeks, and Bulgarians all declare war on the empire. When The Archduke Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo, the empire signs a treaty with the Germans. Soon, the Ottoman Empire goes to war with Russia, and World War I has officially begun.

In the meantime, at 13 years old, Philothei has grown so beautiful that she is forced to veil herself. When Ibrahim sees her in her veil, he talks to his parents about their marriage, and it is made official.

The people of Eskibahçe hear about the war when a sergeant named Osman shows up to recruit troops. Osman reveals that the war has been declared a holy one, and recruits both Karatavuk and Ibrahim. Because he is a Christian, Mehmetçik is instead taken to a labor battalion. Shortly after, the Armenian death marches of 1915 begin, and all Armenians are removed from Eskibahçe.

Karatavuk quickly realizes there is no such thing as a holy war. At one point, he is commanded by Mustafa Kemal, to whom he willingly sacrifices thousands of soldiers. Strangely, Karatavuk’s troops grows close to the enemy and find that they no longer hate each other. Eventually the Franks leave, and Karatavuk is instructed to clean up the abandoned garrison for the next two years.

Mehmetçik manages to escape his labor battalion and becomes an outlaw. In Eskibahçe, the imam grows sick and dies. At the same time, Rustem visits Tamara in the brothel to find that she is sick and starving. He confesses that he feels guilty for what he did to her.

When the Ottoman Empire collapses, the British take control of the government. Mustafa heads a resistance in Istanbul under the pretense that only he can achieve Turkish independence. Soon, armed resistance by Turks against Greeks begins.

Mustafa becomes a member of parliament in Istanbul, and ends up being the only nationalist leader in Istanbul. When Mustafa is elected president, he declares his loyalty to the sultan and promptly declares another holy war. Mustafa creates his own political party and essentially becomes a dictator. It soon looks as if Mustafa Kemal will win the war against the Greeks.

During the war, cities are destroyed and civilians are tortured and murdered on both sides. Mustafa eventually abolishes the sultan’s position and creates a secular constitution. He follows this by signing a treaty that removes Christian Turks to Greece, and brings Greek Muslims into Turkey.

Karatavuk and Ibrahim finally return to Eskibahçe, but Ibrahim isolates himself and postpones his marriage to Philothei. Sergeant Osman returns to Eskibahçe and demands that all Christians are to leave for Greece.

Philothei panics, as she is torn between going with her parents or staying with Ibrahim. Meanwhile, Leyla writes a letter to Rustem Bey confessing that she is a Greek woman named Ioanna. As she wants to return to her family in Ithaca, she leaves with the Christians.

As Drosoula is leaving Eskibahçe, she sees Ibrahim and Philothei arguing on the cliff above her. Suddenly, she sees Ibrahim push Philothei off of the cliff and to her death. When he narrates, Ibrahim reveals that during the war he was encouraged by his comrades to rape and beat Greek civilians. His shame is what lead him to put off his marriage to Philothei.

Mehmetçik secretly returns to Eskibahçe and is shocked to find that his family is no longer there. When he finds Karatavuk, he tells Mehmetçik he should sail to Crete to find his family. Meanwhile, the townspeople hear a bandit is in town. When Karatavuk acts as a decoy to help Mehmetçik escape, Karatavuk is shot in the arm by Iskander.

Iskander narrates and reveals that Ibrahim told him that he only accidentally pushed Philothei off of the cliff. Since they were arguing when it happened, Ibrahim wholly blames himself. However, Iskander argues, “everything that happened was made to do so by the great world” (537).

The novel ends with Karatavuk writing a letter to Mehmetçik. He hopes he will meet Mehmetçik and his other friends again in paradise. Karatavuk writes, “You and I once fancied ourselves as birds… but the truth is that we were birds without wings” (550). He ends by saying as humans, they have been condemned to live a life they cannot control.