As the political landscape changes during the Russian Revolution, the Czarist regime comes to an end, and Dr.Zhivago's relationships reflect the political turmoil raging about him. Though he is married, the vagaries of war lead him to begin a love affair with the beautiful Lara. But he cannot escape the machinations of a band of selfish and cruel characters: General Strelnikov, a Bolshevik General; Komarovsky, Lara's former lover; and Yevgraf, Zhivago's sinister half-brother. This epic, sweeping romance, told in flashback, captures the lushness of Moscow before the war and the violent social upheaval that followed.