Melbourne, 1938. Annabel wants to be a scientist, but when she meets Bill Whitton she knows that they are destined for each other. She waits for the war to end before their life together, as lovers and microbiologists, can begin. The newlyweds emigrate to New York, where they meet fellow immigrants Frank, a Hungarian ex-Communist, and his playwright wife, Suzy. The Cold War is in full swing, and Frank, Annabel and Bill find work on lethal bio-weapons projects. Annabel begins to wonder if this is what she crossed the world for, and soon everything begins to unravel....