After spending decades in a Siberian Gulag labor camp, Roman Catholic priest Kiril Lakota (Anthony Quinn) is set free by Russian leader Piotr Ilyich Kamenev (Sir Laurence Olivier) at the height of the Cold War, when Russia and China are locked in a tense conflict. Following the death of the pope (Sir John Gielgud), Lakota ends up on the global stage when he is chosen to be his successor. As the pope, the humble Lakota becomes a compassionate advocate for ending world hunger and poverty.