January 3, 1985. The announcement comes over the telescreen: Big Brother is dead. His empire, Oceania, has been defeated in a disastrous air battle and is no more. Only two great powers remain: Eurasia and Eastasia. Behind the scenes Big Sister (Big Brother's widow) struggles with the Thought Police and the army for power, while elsewhere the winds of reform sweep through the remnants of Oceania. Everywhere, under the bitingly humorous hand of Gyorgy Dalos, George Orwell's chilling world of "1984" seems to be experiencing a thaw, as Orwell's tortured lovers Smith and Julia, O'Brien the Thought Policeman, Ampleforth the hack poet, and Syme the cynical philologist come alive again. However, when the thaw becomes a revolution as the proles get involved, the now-friendly neighboring empire Eurasia steps in to "restore order."