It's the summer of '68 and the young Czech playwright Vaclav Havel is enjoying the heady atmosphere of new- found freedom as the iron grip of Soviet repression gradually loosens throughout Central Europe. In Havel's Prague, politics are as exciting as theatre, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Havel, though, is a comfortable and acclaimed playwright, and he's determined to avoid conflict that might upset his world. He resists confrontation with the political authorities - led by the celebrated politician Alexander Dubcek - and he tries to carry out his romantic escapades without undermining his marriage to his beloved Olga. Havel's fling with freedom comes to an abrupt and violent end when Soviet Russia invades Czechoslovakia. When Havel refuses to sign a regime-sponsored document approving of the Russian occupation, the government removes him from his theater and from his prestigious position at the pinnacle of Czech cultural life. The now-banned author retreats from the limelight to his