UNDER JAKOB'S LADDER is the story of a vendetta that began because of a game of chess. It all started when a country teacher named Jakob Seel (played by Jeff Stewart) defeats a Russian grandmaster. The grandmaster's
young son, Nikolai, secretly vows to take revenge on the teacher.
Twenty years pass by. Unaware of the vendetta, Jakob is now 60 years old. With the Soviet regime
solidly in place, Jakob has been dismissed from his teaching position in the community. Jakob struggles with his growing sense of worthlessness. So, when a neighbor asks him to publicly speak at the funeral of her brother, he agrees, even though he knows the government forbids it.
Later that night comes the ominous knock on the door. Jakob has been reported. The secret police take him from his home and his beloved granddaughter, Marta.
Thrown into a Soviet detention camp, Jakob finds himself under the heel of the ruthless warden: Nikolai (Christopher Elliott). While Jakob is unaware of Nikolai's identity as the grandmaster's son, little by little, Jakob begins to put the clues together. The prisoners are forced to play chess with the warden. If they win, he promises to free them. But if they lose, they face torture. And Nikolai always wins.
Suddenly, during the night, some of the prisoners mysteriously disappear. The prisoners turn to Jakob for help. Jakob sends a message, offering to play a game of chess with Nikolai. But Nikolai has one more trick up his sleeve...
