Laurits Munch-Petersen sets out to discover how the death of his grandfather in the Spanish Civil War could split up the entire family for three generations. "Shadow of a Hero" is a universal story about the consequences of war. A personal story about a war hero who chose to volunteer in the international brigades for his idealistic beliefs - like many other intellectuals at the time - but he left his pregnant wife and little daugther in the middle of the night without saying goodbye. Was he a hero or a coward? It's a story about the other side of the medal. The grandchild and director of the film takes us on a journey through the family secrets of three generations - a story of a wife left behind and children being abandoned by their devastated mother. All a consequence of the heroic deeds of the grandfather and his early death. Since childhood Laurits heard about his famous grandfather, but as a modern family man Laurits decides to break the taboo in order to reunite his family.