Talented, intensely driven Chinese cosmology student Liu Xing (Liu Ye) arrives at an American university eager to unravel the secrets of dark matter—matter that can be inferred to exist from its gravitational effects, but does not emit or absorb detectable amounts of light. When academic politics dash his chances for a Nobel prize, he responds violently. Inspired by actual events, this haunting and humane portrait of a conflicted individual explores ideas of acculturation, the ironies of "freedom," and insatiable ambition.