"Is it simply stage fright? Or will I never dance again?" In grief over her mother's death, twelve-year-old Gina vows never to dance ballet again. Gina leaves her childhood home to live with the only family left to care for her, Uncle Gene. Months before the breakup of Russia, he accepts a job at the American Consulate in Leningrad, home of the famous Kirov Ballet Academy. As tensions rise in the city and Russia nearly breaks apart, Gina desperately tries to overcome stage fright. On the day that President Gorbachev is arrested, the city erupts in panic and Gina becomes lost in crowds of people. Will her uncle find her? Will she ever see her Russian friends again? Will she finally face her fears and dance again?