Eugene and Peggy Dennis were members of the Communist Party who moved to the USSR in the 1930s. When they returned to the US, the couple was coerced into leaving their 5-year-old son Tim behind in Moscow. Twenty years would pass before they would see him again. In 1951, Eugene was sent to prison for almost five years by the House Un-American Activities Committee. The family was reunited in 1961 at Eugene Dennis' funeral.