A story about Yuri (Max Irons), an artistic soul born into a family of Cossacks’ warriors, who struggles to win the approval of his grandfather Ivan (Terence Stamp) and father Yaroslav (Barry Pepper), and to win the heart of Natalka (Samantha Barks). He finds his life changed forever with the invasion of the Red Army, and the subsequent persecution of his family and fellow countrymen as Stalin’s regime of terror extends across Eastern Europe.