Rosa of the film's title, is Rosa Lux¬emburg, whose spirit is still alive in the old boarding house in Trieste, where she used to meet one of her companions from the "Spartakusbund."

he inhabitants of the boarding house (the film is set in the Seventies) live in a dreamworld of a revolution that will never take place; it is this spirit of revolt and resistance that keeps them alive. It is the era of the military junta in Greece, a time when it was a common occurrence for prominent people to be arrested and forced to give evidence at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg to the effect that human rights were not violated in Greece.

Kyveli, whose husband, a professor, has been arrested recently, has come to Trieste to meet Klaus Offenbach, who is involved in anti-dictatorial activities in Europe and will try to kidnap the professor for his own safety. During their stay in the guesthouse, Kyveli and Klaus fall under the spell of the old building and its historical impact, which slowly changes the lives of all its inhabitants.