WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange spent seven years holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, then five more in a British high-security prison fighting a US espionage charge that carried a potential 175-year sentence, before a plea deal freed him in the summer of 2024. This DW film traces that arc from the 2010 release of thousands of classified US military and diplomatic files, the leak that made state secrets searchable and put Assange at the center of a fight over what journalism is allowed to do. Interviews and archival footage lay out both sides of his reputation, the source-protecting pioneer who exposed war conduct and diplomatic double-dealing, and the man accused of recklessly endangering lives and abetting a hostile power. The film follows his path through Sweden, London, Quito, and Belmarsh prison, using news footage, courtroom reporting, and commentary from journalists and activists who worked with or against him. It closes without resolving the argument, asking instead what the fight for transparency has cost, and won, in the years since.