"Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient) plays not one, but three roles in this compelling and acclaimed epic about a Jewish family caught up in the upheavals and false hopes of the war-swept 20th century. A distinguished cast joins Fiennes, including Jennifer Ehle as free-spirited young Valery, Rosemary Harris (Ehle's real-life mother) as the Valerie of later years, and William Hurt as a war survivor whose new post as a communist official gives him power over his former enemies."