Disillusioned, divided, tired of war, tired of letting themselves be led by third-rate politicians, the American people in the seventies have sunk into apathy and moral poverty, drained of the pioneering spirit and will to live that characterized the previous generations. In a bloodless lightning strike, the Russians one day occupy this America. They had carefully studied how the assassination of President Kennedy spread within hours to every corner of the United States and paralyzed an entire nation. The same effect was achieved with untrue intelligence by the fact that an "army" had seized all the mass media at the right moment. The occupation itself was then a matter of routine. The threat of bacteriological warfare alone was enough for the government in Washington to surrender. Eugene Vandenberg did not surrender. Even though he was in a prison camp and subjected to rigorous interrogation by Americans who did indeed surrender, he fought back. He refused to yield to the psychological devices used by his interrogator, and when he found out his food was drugged--to make him more amenable--he stops eating and eventually attempts to escape.