No understanding of the modern movement in architecture is possible without knowledge of its master builder, Mies van der Rohe. Together with documentation of his life, this film shows all his major buildings, as well as rare film footage of Mies explaining his philosophy. Phyllis Lambert relates her choice of Mies as the architect for the Seagram building. Mies's achievements and continuing influence are debated by architects Robert A.M. Stern, Robert Venturi, and Philip Johnson, by former students and by architectural historians. Mies is seen in rare documentary footage.

Three Americans - who were students there - relive the day the Nazis closed the Bauhaus in Berlin. Forced into exile, the Bauhauslers transform America's cities, design, and art, and are profoundly transformed themselves in the process. Their success has consequences they could never have imagined in Germany.