In 1912, eight-year-old Luba is angry at her family friend Eliza for charming her older sister, Sofya. Luba is frightened Eliza will steal Sofya away from her. Luba and Sofya are staying with Eliza in Paris over the winter holidays. One night after Luba is in bed, Eliza and Sofya come to wake her up for a surprise. Knowing how much Luba loves astrology, they bring her to a local planetarium where Luba can see the stars spread out over the ceiling. Luba is enchanted and accepts Eliza into her family.

It is 1914, and Sofya and Luba Streshnayva are concluding their visit to Eliza’s home in America. At their going away party, Eliza watches her daughter, Caroline, and her husband, Henry, play by the sea. She and her mother discuss Eliza’s upcoming visit to Sofya’s family home in St. Petersburg; Eliza’s mother criticizes the state of poverty in Russia, and Eliza considers the brewing war. She finds Sofya and her family, who are cousins to the current tsar. Sofya’s stepmother, Agnessa, is flaunting her wealth, while two physicians argue over best practices for Sofya’s pregnancy.