Polish master Krzysztof Zanussi returns with a new film where historical trends inform the present. Victor is the newly widowed Polish ambassador to Uruguay. Returning home following his wife′s death, he meets his old friend Oleg, who is now the Russian Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs. Victor works alongside his new aide, Waldemar who has a beautiful young wife, Oksana. Also drawn into the story is another old friend-and new ally-Alfred, the Italian ambassador. In the run-up to an international conference in Montevideo, various suspicions and complications held among the characters surface: Oleg′s potential infiltration of Poland′s political opposition; questions about his past relationship with Victor′s wife; Victor′s misguided emotional projection onto Oksana; Waldemar′s implication in a crime. All of it occurs while several nations vie for a lucrative arms contract. In modern Europe where old enemies are now allies, and former partners are now foes, Zanussi mixes personal and political intrigue to weave a tale of contemporary relations tainted by history-a subject that has been a career-long fascination for the director.