In the early days of World War II, Joe Kavalier escapes from Prague, leaving behind his parents and teenage sister, Sarah, and arrives in Brooklyn to live with his cousin Sam and aunt Esther. He plans to make enough money to bring his family to the United States to escape the German occupation. Joe, a gifted artist and amateur magician and escape artist, and Sam, a wisecracking writer, create a comic-book superhero to rival Superman and use their comic-book stories to urge Americans to join the fight against the Nazis. Sam’s boss at a toy and novelty company, Mr. Anapol, takes a chance on them and backs the venture. The Escapist becomes a hit, spawning a radio show. Attending a broadcast, Joe and Sam meet Tracy Bacon, the actor who plays the Escapist. Joe also meets Rosa, a talented artist who works for the Jewish Children’s Fund, which ferries refugee children from Europe to the U.S. on its own ship, The Ark of Miriam. Joe and Rosa attend a gallery show benefiting the Jewish Children’s Fund, where Salvador Dalí entertains the crowd and Joe helps him escape near suffocation after the artist gets trapped in a diving helmet. Joe and Rosa discuss arranging for Sarah to board The Ark of Miriam, and as they plan for the future, they fall in love. In Prague, Joe’s mother is captured by the Germans and sent to a camp, and Joe’s father is taken in a raid led by Gestapo Commander Gerhard, as Sarah narrowly escapes. Joe and Rosa’s relationship blossoms, and Rosa confirms Sarah’s passage on The Ark of Miriam. Meanwhile, Sam and Tracy Bacon have fallen for each other. They share a Shabbat dinner with Sam’s mother, toasting the imminent arrival of Sarah’s ship in New York, and spend a romantic night atop the Empire State Building, where they discuss their plan to take a train west to Hollywood. When they discover a newspaper headline reporting The Ark of Miriam has been sunk by German torpedoes, they race to tell Joe, who is performing his magic act at a benefit for the Jewish Children’s Fund. They have Rosa tell him the news, and before a room filled with dinner guests, Joe has a breakdown.

Synopsis: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

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