Set in the Soviet scientific community, the story follows two dedicated physicists whose close friendship unfolds amid dangerous nuclear research, shaped by their shared affection for a strong-willed woman. Radiation exposure, scientific ambition, and romantic rivalries intersect as the characters confront the physical risks of their work and the personal consequences of their choices.

Originally called World '68, later retitled The World of Today Romm’s film was conceived as an impassioned, large-scale essay on the origins of the 20th century and the subsequent reality the disappointed director felt slipping away from him. The film itself slipped away from him and was left unfinished at the time of his death. His younger colleagues, Marlen Khutsiev, Elem Klimov and German Lavrov, completed the film from the elements he left behind in addition to segments from Ordinary Fascism, closing the film with Romm’s ultimately optimistic outlook: "And still I believe that man is sensible..."