In 1914, New York socialite Eliza Ferriday travels to St. Petersburg with her friend Sofya, a cousin of the Romanovs. When Austria declares war on Serbia and the imperial Russian dynasty collapses, Eliza finds a way home while Sofya and her family flee to the countryside. In the United States, Eliza and her daughter Caroline do everything they can to help the Russian people escape the revolution. When Eliza stops getting letters from Sofya, she begins to fear the worse.