Moscow. 1992. Astrophysicist Sasha Greenberg (Sam Robards) returns after immigrating to the US seventeen years earlier. Formerly branded a traitor by the government, he is now seen as a hero. The period of "Perestroika" (The Restructuring) has turned everything upside down. Yet painful memories of anti-Semitism return to haunt him. A former colleague and lover introduces him to a fiery young girl who may be his daughter. The entire society is in upheaval. At the same time a new breed of entrepreneurs is born. In the midst of all this turmoil Sasha is expected to deliver a lecture on a theory that makes sense of our universe. His wily but supportive mentor, Gross (F.Murray Abraham), counsels Sasha to continue along his path, to ride out his personal and professional problems in search of a brighter future.