Dr James Curran, mostly known for his work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the 1980's, pinpoints several key events and persons linked with the very first years of discoveries on HIV and AIDS.

This film tells the US story of the AIDS epidemic starting in the early 1980's. Scientists and activists, both pioneers and youths of today, talk about research, prevention, treatment and care. They also discuss stigma, homophobia and poverty as closely related to HIV and AIDS.

Last part of the interview with the American AIDS activist and founder of Project Inform, Martin Delaney, in 2006. Here he talks about AIDS activism and the different stages of the antiretroviral drug development from AZT to triple combination treatment.

Annual HIV research conference arranged by IHV. Dr Robert Gallo holds a lecture on the history of medical research on human retroviruses. He also talks about the early discoveries of t-cell leukemia in Japanese patients, which led to the discovery of HTLV-1.

Interview with Pathologist Christian Isichei, founder of the Faith Alive Hospital in Jos in Nigeria. He talks about the drug industry and access to ARV treatment in Africa and his experiences from the annual conference at the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) in Baltimore.