In 1972, a historical ice hockey game tournament is arranged where the cream of Canada's professional stars of the National Hockey League would play against the best of the Soviet Union's. Although Canada and the USSR have faced off repeatedly on the amateur level before, most of Canada is smugly convinced that the Soviets will be no match for the pros. However, that assumption is forcefully shot down when Team Canada is soundly trounced in the first game by the skilled Soviet Union team. What follows is a bitter struggle as Team Canada fights to recover in a series that would change Canadian hockey's self-image and history forever.