In 1947, architect László Tóth (Adrien Brody) flees persecution in Budapest for the US; initially forced to toil in poverty, circumstances thrust him into the orbit of Harrison van Buren (Guy Pearse), a millionaire businessman who comes to recognise the spark of revolutionary genius in the Hungarian’s innovative contemporary designs, and engages him to build a spectacular structure in honour of van Buren’s recently deceased mother, a sprawling project that will consume both men as their tumultuous relationship grows ever more co-dependent.