Why do brilliant ideas arise in certain places – and what intellectual climate do they need in order to grow and generate new knowledge? Astrophysicist and science journalist Harald Lesch follows in the footsteps of the brightest minds: from the stargazers of Mesopotamia to ancient Alexandria, the golden age of Islam in Córdoba and Cairo, and the first centers of modern science in Venice and Cambridge. The film concludes with the realization that the best ideas flourish where thinking remains free and knowledge is shared.