A former naval intelligence officer, now a college professor, is offered a job by a group of European socialists. He is forced to confront the changes in life since the start of the Cold War.

67-year-old ex-major league player "Lefty" MacDonald regales fellow residents at the rest home with stories of his glory days in baseball. After injuring his arm throwing a horseshoe, "Lefty" finds he can now throw a freakish curve ball. He approaches the manager of his old team, the floundering Brooklyn Dodgers. The team is doing so poorly, the manager gives the old timer a spot on the roster.