Los, a visionary engineer, and his colleague Spiridonov, receive a strange radio transmission. Los becomes fixated on Aelita, the daughter of the dictator of a totalitarian Martian society where the working class are put in suspended animation when not needed. After a series of events involving the murder of his wife and a detective's pursuit, Los assumes Spiridonov's identity and builds a spaceship. Alongside the revolutionary Gusev, he travels to Mars, but they are quickly imprisoned by Tuskub. Gusev and Los incite a revolution, but Aelita ultimately takes control and establishes her own oppressive rule. Los is horrified and tries to stop her, but reality and fantasy become blurred and he realizes the true nature of the situation.