Plot: House of Sand and Fog is the story of an Iranian political refugee family who are in struggle for a better life in the United States. Amir Behrani, who was a colonel in Shah's regime, spends most of his savings on a fancy wedding ceremony for his daughter. Once she is married, he purchases a house in auction in the hope of making a profit by selling it for a higher price. Behrani's goal is to spend the money he earns from selling the house to achieve his dream of building a place like the villa they used to have in north of Iran, and save the rest of the money for his son's education. However, Kathy, who was the former owner of the house and lost it mistakenly charged for unpaid taxes, steps in and makes the life difficult for them. She meets a policeman and starts a relationship with him. To help Kathy get the house back, the police officer threatens the Behrani family with deporting them from the country if they do not leave the house. The struggles for the house lead to a tragic end.
Alternative Plot: Reformed drug addict Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly) has her California coast house, which she inherited from her father, taken away by the county due to a misunderstanding about back taxes. The place is bought by Iranian immigrant Massoud Amir Behrani (Ben Kingsley), who intends to fix it up and sell it in order to provide a better life for his wife (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and son (Jonathan Ahdout). However, Kathy, desperate to get the house back, begins harassing Behrani so he will return it.
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