In 1920, the Russian writer Isaac Babel wanders the countryside with the Red Cavalry. Seventy years later, a mysterious KGB agent spies on a woman in Dresden and falls in love. In 2010, an aircraft carrying most of the Polish government crashes in the Russian city of Smolensk. While the three settings and time periods may appear disparate from a quick glance at the synopsis, Joseph shows his mastery of the craft by connecting these stories through a single journal.