Amid the bloody tumult of Communist dictator Ceausescu in 1989 Romania, a hedonistic and morally sidetracked physician, Daniel Pavenic (Michael Gambon), attempts to hold his annual dinner for 12 of his closest friends. Only three such friends are willing to brave the dangerous war-torn streets to go to Pavenic's mansion, where they find themselves investigating the shocking, debauched relationship between their host and a once-beautiful house servant. The more the guests learn about the twisted relationship, the more they find themselves re-entangled in their own dark memories. The book upon which this drama is based, The Two Deaths of Senora Puccini, by Stephen Dobyns, was set in Chile.