In wartime, American Howard W. Campbell broadcasts hate propaganda for his adopted country, Nazi Germany. Embedded in his scripts, however, is coded information that supposedly aids his native land in its good fight against genocidal nationalism. When peace comes, the issue of regard arises: Was he war criminal or war hero?
Tough question. And one that Kurt Vonnegut worried brilliantly in Mother Night. Words, after all, have real consequences. The value of espionage, on the other hand, is never easily provable--especially in Campbell's case. When, years after the war, it is discovered that he is still alive, the Soviets, the Israelis...