When young Sabrina Mathews journeyed from Canada to the coffee plantations of Nicaragua to show support for the Sandinista cause, she had no idea she would forge a lifetime friendship with a young woman whose life would be tossed by the vicissitudes of cold war politics.After their initial meeting, the friendship with Martha Aguilar grew, nurtured by an eleven year correspondence. Their letters reflect not only their personal lives and affairs of the heart, but also the changing world around them. During this period the Soviet Union dissolved, the Cold War ended and a new government came to power in Nicaragua.Martha left Nicaragua and spent difficult years in the Ukraine pursuing her medical education. She became a single mother, defying pressures to give up her child for the sake of her studies. Sabrina's letters brought encouragement as well as small sums of smuggled U.S. dollars that allowed mother and child to survive. When Martha graduates and returns to her homeland , Sabrina journeys for a long awaited reunion.A Time of Love and War is a passionate film that views history through a personal prism. It shows how global forces and strongly felt ideals shape individual lives.