November 7, 1980. An Egyptian writer has chosen the wrong time to come to Beirut in search of a publisher for his controversial new book. Men with machine guns are on every street corner. When the writer meets an old friend from his revolutionary student days, he is introduced to two fascinating women: idealistic filmmaker Antoinette and Lamia, the seductive wife of his would-be publisher. Based on the author's real-life experience of the civil war in Lebanon, Beirut, Beirut is an exploration of how, in the midst of chaos and violence, it is impossible to see where anyone truly stands.