In Leningrad 1967, Tonja is about to fulfil her long life dream to become a kosmonaut, when she meets Mikhail, the love of her life. After standing up to one of her officers harassing her, Tonja is kicked out of the space program and her foundation is shattered.
Then Philip, an American, enters her life, a meeting which turns out to be the beginning of a great and tragic love affair that will affect them all forever. Tonya is torn between her feelings for Mikkhail - her rugged knight in rusty armour - and Philip - the sophisticated older man, and soon she has to choose between true love or a wealthy and safe new life in the west.