Confined in an
Israeli jail, Howard W. Campbell, Jr. writes a memoir about his career in
Nazi Germany. During the buildup to
World War II, Campbell, an American playwright of German language stage productions, is approached by
War Department operative Frank Wirtanen. Wirtanen asks Campbell to work as a spy for the U.S. in the approaching war, though he promises no reward or recognition. Campbell rejects the offer, but Wirtanen adds that he wants Campbell to take some time to consider, telling him that Campbell's answer will come in the form of how he acts and what positions he assumes once the war begins. In the initial stages of the war, Campbell works his way up through
Joseph Goebbels'
Propaganda Ministry, eventually becoming the "voice" of English language broadcasts propagating Nazism and
anti-Semitism at American citizens (a parallel to the real broadcaster, Dr.
Edward Vieth Sittler). Unknown to the Nazis, all of the idiosyncrasies of his speech – deliberate pauses, coughing, etc. – form a secret code that covertly transmits information to
Allied intelligence agencies. Late in the war, after his wife, Helga, is reportedly killed on the
Eastern Front, Campbell visits her family in early 1945 outside
Berlin, just before the
Red Army arrives. Helga's younger sister, Resi, confesses that she is in love with him. Eventually, Campbell is captured when an American infantryman recognizes his voice. Before he can be executed, Wirtanen arranges for Campbell's discreet release and helps his relocation to
New York City. Campbell is shocked to learn that the American government will not reveal Campbell's true role in the war, because that would also reveal the
spycraft techniques that America may continue to need for the
next war. Although that means that Campbell is doomed to be a pariah, Wirtanen is unsympathetic, reasoning that Campbell would not have wanted the truth known had Germany won the war. In New York City, Campbell lives a lonely existence for fifteen years, sustained only by memories of Helga and an indifferent curiosity about his eventual fate. Mrs. Epstein, a
Holocaust survivor living in Campbell's building, is the only person who suspects his true identity; he seems to avoid her suspicions by feigning ignorance of German. Campbell's only friend is George Kraft, an elderly painter who, through an extraordinary coincidence, happens to be a
Soviet intelligence agent. Over many games of chess, Campbell reveals his secret past to Kraft, who tries to use this information to improve his standing with his handlers by forcing Campbell into a position where he must flee to
Moscow. He leaks information about Campbell's whereabouts, which gets the attention of a
neo-Nazi organization. Representatives of this group meet Campbell and present him with a woman who seems to be Helga. However, it is not long before Campbell discovers that Helga is actually Resi, who had taken Helga's identity to escape from
East Germany. The neo-Nazis shelter Campbell, along with Kraft and Resi, in their Manhattan hideout. Wirtanen reappears, warning Campbell of Kraft's true identity and explaining that Kraft and Resi have put Campbell in an awkward position with the neo-Nazis to ensure his transfer to Moscow. Campbell returns to the hideout to confront the pair; in light of her exposure, Resi commits suicide. Moments later, the
FBI raids the hideout but, again, Wirtanen uses his influence to ensure Campbell walks free. Upon his release, he freezes in the middle of a footpath having lost all meaning to his life, until a police officer finally tells him to move along. Campbell returns to his wrecked apartment and decides to turn himself in to the Israelis to stand trial. Campbell is taken to
Haifa, where he is incarcerated in the cell below an unrepentant
Adolf Eichmann. The film ends with the arrival of a letter from Wirtanen providing the corroborating evidence that Campbell was indeed a U.S. spy during the war. Moments later, Campbell hangs himself — not, he says, for
crimes against humanity, but rather for "crimes against myself." ==Cast==