This film is about the global AIDS situation. The film starts in Europe and the United States and ends up in Zimbabwe and Uganda. It tells about the global disparities of drug access, but also about the successful HIV and AIDS responses of Thailand, Cambodia and Uganda.

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.

Story from The Project Inform AIDS Hotline where people can call in and ask questions about HIV/AIDS and antiretroviral treatment. One of the volunteers is answering the phone.

An agent from the AIDS NGO organization KHANA educates HIV/AIDS prevention by talking to some people and handing out information sheets on the street of Phnom Penh.

Alec works as a manager in a harm reduction program and does street outreach work among young drug users in the streets of Moscow.

Dr Selma Dritz tells the story of how the AIDS epidemic started in Los Angeles and San Francisco in the early 80's and how AIDS was connected to the gay liberation movement. She also talks about the government and community responses at that time.

Helen Jackson from Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) talks about short and long term impact of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe.

Cutaways of a Kunzwana HIV/AIDS Training Project awareness session. Members of the Kunzwana Women’s Association singing and dancing. Location shots of the landscape and two motorcyclists arriving to the center.

Quarraisha Abdool Karim is an epidemiologist in Durban. She talks about the start of the South African AIDS epidemic and the South African AIDS response, health policies and campaigns. She explains why women are more susceptible to HIV than men are.