XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. Ending of a panel session on the vaccine trials of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). Seth Berkley, Alan Bernstein and Omu Anzala respond to questions from the audience.

French virologist and Nobel Prize winner Luc Montagnier reflects on the discovery of HIV, discusses disappointments and lessons learned along the way and the possibility of a vaccine, and gives advice for future AIDS researchers.

The primary focus of this documentary is on the history of how the AIDS epidemic started in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York in 1981. Many different stories are told about people affected or surrounded by HIV and AIDS in the early years of the epidemic.