Chester Schneider

Chester Schneider, a bitter, self-exiled American of German descent, is a dedicated curmudgeon.

In Argentina

In Argentina, he strikes up a friendship with a shady German expatriate. When flushed out of that country, Chet flees to Germany in search of his friend's lost daughter.

In Germany

There he meets a semirecluse semicelebrity and a Vietnamese laborer. Both aid in a quest replete with welcome, if unexpected, rewards.