One the eve of the Shah of Iran's exile, Siamak and Gazaleh, two young offspring of prominent Iranian families, are joined by marriage. One of their guests is Phillipe, a Frenchman whose parents own a business in Tehran. After the wedding, Phillipe invites his two friends, Rezah and Ashin to Ramsar on the Caspian where his family owns a seaside villa. There, Phillipe receives a disturbing call from his mother. She tells him her anxiety about the sudden and alarming turn of events in Iran and of their plan to return to France as soon as possible. Ashin's mother, Nina, is informed that it has been arranged for the Ayatollah Khomeini to return to Iran from his exile in France. Nina feels the urgent need for the family to leave the country. Ashin stubbornly refuses, and so does his father, who has a secret.