1979. Carole and Jerome are 20 and go on an organised trip to Odessa, behind the Iron Curtain. They're cousins but pretend they're engaged. In the day, simple tourists, they visit monuments and museums. In the evening, they slip away from the group and secretly meet "refuseniks", Jews persecuted by the Soviet regime for wanting to leave the country. They discover an underground world, cruel and absurd. While Carole is motivated by political commitment and a taste for risk, for Jérôme, the real motivation behind this trip is Carole.