Its the tumultuous 1970s, and Truman DeVoto has had it with America. A failed marriage, a two-faced brother, the Nixon presidency, the Vietnam Warthe country is going down the drain and hes bailing. With a pouch of stolen money, he sets out for Brazil, expecting to buy a cozy beach house from a Brazilian friend, blend into a fishing village and work on his tan.

But the country is under the control of a military dictatorship. Even his fishing village may not be a perfect fit. Then he discovers a secret about his Brazilian friend and his sister and, because of them, Truman abandons his dream of a peaceful retirement, and becomes involved in a movement to take down the government of his new home.

Although modern Brazil is an exuberantly democratic, successful, country, in the 1970s, it was overrun with poverty, illiteracy, and one of the worlds worst distributions of wealth. A Small, Perfect Place is a fictional account of this turbulent period, when Brazil regained its soul through the long struggle of its revolutionaries, many of whom are presently the countrys political leaders.