In the 1960's, a school teacher pretends to be a CIA spy to get his nagging wife off his back. He helps a Russian ballet dancer defect and is then sent to Cuba to locate "Agent X" for the CIA.
Carl suffers from embedded fears that were instilled by his mother and the church she raised him in. His fears have driven him to cheat on his wife and now he fears he will have to suffer the consequences of his actions.