In the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution, Count Alexander Rostov is put under house arrest at Moscow's Hotel Metropol, then promptly forgotten by the authorities. From the window of his tiny attic rooms he sees Russian history being made, but cannot leave. Instead, the world comes to him as he helps maintain the Metropol's elegance for the next 30 years, through war, famine, and fear. He forms indelible friendships with unlikely people and experiences his own memorable moments as he shows the qualities that make a true gentleman and learns the meaning of being a true person.