In May of 1945, only weeks after the fighting in Europe ends, an American Army N.O. is re-assigned to a training company at Camp Crowder, Missouri. He, Sergeant Nathan Marx, was a veteran of the European theater and is uncomfortable outside of the war. Soon after he arrives at the camp he begrudgingly intervenes to allow three Jewish trainees to skip cleanup to attend shul. As a result, Marx, who is himself Jewish, becomes the stand-in for these three trainees who become increasingly aggressive in advocating for their religious rights, often blurring the line between genuine religious sentiment and an attempt to get one over on the higher-ups. They object to the food, which is not kosher, for instance, by writing a Congressman a fake letter from one of their parents. One trainee in particular, Sheldon Grossman, trading on the mutual Jewish connection, takes every advantage to manipulate Sergeant Marx, which culminates in his attempt to get Marx to intervene to get him reassigned away from the Pacific theater. When Marx refuses and says that he can't interfere, Grossman somehow manages to get himself re-assigned to New Jersey anyway. Marx calls in a favor to get him reassigned back to the Pacific theater. Marx reflects that they are all accepting their respective fates.