The story takes place at the end of the 18th century, when Ignaz (Ralph Fiennes Ralph Fiennes) falls in love with his cousin Valerie (Rosemary Harris Rosemary Harris) and marries him in spite of his family's opposition, even abandoning the family name for the sake of his official career. In the end, Ignaz's ambition not only hurt Valerie, but also made him exhausted. Adam (S á ndor Szak á CSI) is the youngest son of Ignaz. Facing the future, he makes the same choice as his father. However, the Nazi hatred of Jews thoroughly tarnishes his fantasies and hopes for the future. Adam's son Ivan (Mark strong Mark Strong) is lucky to be a survivor of that inhumane massacre, but hatred and weariness go to his head and make him impulsively devote himself to the socialist movement.