Famed Ethiopian director Haile Gerima left his native city of Gondor while still a young man, eventually moving to Los Angeles to study film at UCLA and then to make films of his own. During his absence, his country suffered through the collapse of the Sellassie regime and the nightmare years of dictatorship and war that followed. Following the removal of the Derg from power in 1991, Gerima was commissioned by the BBC to return to record the condition of his people and give a sense of the new Ethiopia. Together with Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski, Gerima journeyed from Gondor to the capital Addis Ababa, filming and speaking with people along the way. They film friends and acquaintances, former teachers, and total strangers, all in an effort to understand what has transpired, what could have been done differently, and what must happen in the future if Ethiopia is to move forward.