As a young boy, Charlie escaped the Armenian Genocide. His family was not so lucky. 30 years later, in 1947, Charlie decides to leave the United States, and repatriates back to Armenia only to be greeted by the harsh reality of Soviet Communism. Almost immediately he is arrested and sentenced to prison.

Just as he appears to be succumbing to the terror of his situation, he discovers that the prison wall outside his cell window had been damaged during a recent earthquake. And through a hole he can see into a nearby apartment building…

The Armenian couple who lives in the apartment, Tigran and Ruzan, become Charlie’s only connection to the outside world, living vicariously through their private life, sharing meals with them, laughing, crying, singing, and dancing with them, all the while discovering the Armenian culture he never knew.