Former Latin teacher Raimund Gregorius boards the night train to Lisbon, carrying with him a book by Amadeu de Prado, with whose work he becomes obsessed, and journeys all over the city in search of the truth about the author.

During project week, a popular and unorthodox high school teacher, in an attempt to stir up his lethargic students, devises an experiment that will explain what totalitarianism is and how it works. What begins with harmless notions about discipline and community builds into a real movement: the Wave. The teacher decides to break off the experiment. But it may be too late; the Wave has taken on a life of its own and is out of control.