Sweden has granted asylum to American protesters against the Vietnam War. Some are draft resisters; some are wanted by the FBI for acts of violence; some are AWOL soldiers; and some are actually working for the CIA - or so everyone suspects. They are eking out their lives in Uppsala on a meager dole. Each thinks he would be a better group spokesperson than Aronson, who is the current leader of the Americans in exile and a wanted man in the United States. Into this maelstrom of conflicting egos comes an innocent, Lenny Spiegel, who has volunteered to travel to Sweden to help. He physically resembles Aronson, who "borrows" his passport. Until it is returned, Lenny is stuck in Uppsala where many believe he is Aronson. And Lenny learns that no good deed goes unpunished.