In Moscow 1953, four terrified women prisoners are brought before Joseph Stalin, who chooses the beautiful Dasha. He punishes her by shaving off her long hair. Moments later, a plastic surgeon leads Stalin into the operating room and transforms his face so that he is unrecognizable. He vanishes, but OSS agent Steve Anderson searches for him in Europe.

Norwegian immigrant Marta Hanson keeps a firm but loving hand on her household of four children, a devoted husband and a highly-educated lodger who reads great literature to the family every evening. Through financial crises, illnesses and the small triumphs of everyday life, Marta maintains her optimism and sense of humor, traits she passes on to her aspiring-author daughter, Katrin.