In 1988 a small group of students take over the vice-rector's office at a Warsaw university, joining Solidarity strikes breaking out all over Poland. There is Tom, a student visiting from Belfast, Aleks, a journalist, and Michalski, the enigmatic leader. More than a decade later, the friends are reunited when they return to help Michalski in his bid for the country's presidency. How will the decisions each made during the strikes affect them now?