Warning: Spoilers follow
Hines plays an American tap dancer living in the Soviet Union who befriends a Soviet ballet dancer who had defected.
The two pair up after the defector's plane makes a forced landing in Siberia and is recognized. The defector and Hines are brought to Moscow where the Soviets seek to exploit the (former) defector's talents. After an initial period of racial and artistic friction, the two become fast friends and Hines helps arrange an escape.