In this film, Dr Alexander Titov (Queen's University of Belfast), looks at the early thaw in relations between the Soviet Union and the West after the death of Stalin, the resolution of outstanding issues such as the Korean War, the division of Austria, and Khruschev's resetting of relations with China and Yugoslavia.

Dr Titov then discusses how this early honeymoon of international relations fell apart with the Berlin Crisis, the Sino-Soviet split and the Cuban Missile Crisis, examining the role of Khruschev's often combustible temper and his over willingness to gamble.