Sunset and Sunrise 1970

In the early months of 1952, the country trembles as secret patriotic organizations begin to rise in multiple cities, each quietly plotting change. At the center of one such movement stands Amin Salah Zulfikar, a daring figure who aims to topple the King and challenge Azmi Pasha, the powerful head of the political police. Amin’s closest allies are two loyal friends: Essam Rushdy Abaza and Samir Ibrahim Khan. Samir is married to Madiha Soad Hosny, the daughter of Azmi Pasha Mahmoud El Meligy, a man determined to tighten his grip on his household and the state.

Madiha longs to escape her father’s watchful control and pleads with Samir to live beyond the palace walls, but Azmi Pasha refuses to release his hold. The tension between duty, love, and ambition threads through their family saga, set against the volatile atmosphere following the Cairo fire, which had shaken the city earlier in January 1952. After the blaze is stamped out, Azmi Pasha reassures everyone that the danger has passed, yet the underlying strains only intensify. A quarrel erupts between Madiha and Samir as he tries to persuade her father to allow a more private life, a request that remains stubbornly denied.

As the calendar inching toward revolution turns, Madiha grows restless during Samir’s frequent travels. In a moment of desperation or curiosity, she phones one of Samir’s friends—Essam—anonymous, seeking a spark to shake up her tedious life. She visits Essam at his apartment, hoping for a distraction from palace walls and parental control. Essam steps out briefly to buy household supplies, but fate intervenes when a car strikes him, sending him to the hospital. In the hospital, Essam asks Samir to come to the rescue of the woman inside Essam’s home, unaware that she is his own wife. The revelation shocks Samir to the core, and when he discovers Madiha in the apartment, he is overwhelmed by anger and betrayal, leading to a confrontation that ends with him divorcing her after a brutal clash in front of her father, who then schemes to orchestrate an accident to kill Samir.

The road ahead for Essam and Amin is paved with grief and renewed resolve. They mourn their friend’s death and the rupture it brings to their circle, while Azmi Pasha intensifies his efforts to muzzle the dissenting voices by pressuring Essam to marry his daughter, Madiha, in order to shield the family from scandal. The political chessboard shifts as Amin seizes a daring opportunity to infiltrate Azmi Pasha’s inner circle, subsequently paving a path for Essam to wed Madiha and relocate to the palace, where he can access secrets and maneuver within the corridors of power.

From the safety of the palace stronghold, Essam uncovers Azmi Pasha’s secrets and shares them with the patriotic cause. In turn, Amin—driven by a mixture of loyalty and strategic purpose—transforms these revelations into a written mémoire that he disseminates far and wide, reaching even the royal court, where whispers of discontent ripple through the halls of the Saray. The memoir’s circulation stirs a backlash as the Saray demands accountability and a resignation from the powerful figure at its center. Though Azmi Pasha attempts to strike back at the dissenters, his plans falter in the face of a united front from Amin and Essam.

In a final, somber farewell, Essam confesses his deep love for Madiha, only to hear her request that they part ways forever. He accepts the weight of her decision and leaves with Amin, ready to organize their next gathering within the ranks of their growing patriotic network. The story closes on a note of unresolved longing and a renewed commitment to their cause, as the two friends step forward into an uncertain future, bound by shared secrets, sacrifice, and the pursuit of a country’s destiny.