Joan (Judy Davis) is a young Australian communist who goes to the Soviet Union as part of a work study program in the 1950s. There she catches the eye of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin (F. Murray Abraham) and the two sleep together just before Stalin dies. Returning to Australia, Joan discovers she is pregnant and gives birth to Stalin's love child, whom she names Joe (Richard Roxburgh). Her son (who does not know who his father is) has a troubled upbringing, rebelling against both his mother's left wing politics and Australian society in general. He spends time in jail where he learns about Stalin's crimes from a fellow inmate. Upon release, he marries Anna (Rachel Griffiths) a police officer who had arrested him. She is the child of Ukrainian refugees who fled to Australia to escape Stalin's purges. Pledging to go on the straight and narrow, Joe rises to become the head of Australia's police union and seizes more and more political power. Anna learns of Joe's true parentage, but keeps this secret from Joe out of love and a conviction that she cannot truly know for certain. The secret eats at their relationship and Joe resents the secrecy when it is revealed.
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