This novel dramatizes an incident that occurred in a California school in 1969. A teacher creates an experimental movement in his classroom to help students understand how people could follow Hitler. The results are astonishing. The highly disciplined group, modeled on the principles of the Hitler Youth, has its own salute, chants, and distinctive ways of acting as a unit. This movement quickly spreads from the classroom to the entire school, evolving into a society willing to sacrifice freedom for regimentation and blind obedience to its leader. Everyone will learn a lesson that will never be forgotten.