Tirana, 1990: Former cycling champion, Ilo, now 50, is assigned by the government to assemble a team of five young cyclists to represent the country in an amateur race in France. While on their way to France, they visit Trieste, and on their first day there, the cyclists are still adjusting their eyes to the dazzling Western prosperity on display, when suddenly they discover, via their hotel TV sets, that full blown revolution has broken out back home. Now, worried for the safety of their loved ones, they must find a way of returning to their country – but with that country’s very existence now under question, they will need all the help they can get.