When a serious injury cuts short the career of gymnast Miklos Dongo, he decides to head to Canada to resume his life as a coach. But a miserable childhood trapped inside a 1980s-era Hungarian gymnasium and a past dominated by brutal training regimens and disinterested parents haunt him. When Miklos` Iron Curtain habits lead him to physically strike one of his charges, the Canadian parents react in a way dialectically opposed to what Miklos was trained to expect. He is reassigned to train the moody but talented Kyle, and their initially confrontational, brittle relationship blossoms into a genuine friendship as Miklos begins to deal with his turbulent personal history. Themes of isolation, dislocation, success and ambition are examined in a film that perfectly balances the commercial demands of a feel-good sport film with the art house conventions of character exploration.