When King Igor Shahdov (Charles Chaplin) flees the revolutionaries of Estonia, he arrives in New York City with almost nothing. With a theater background, Shahdov finds work in TV commercials. But when he befriends 10-year-old Rupert Macabee (Michael Chaplin) and the boy's communist parents, the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee deems Shahdov a communist and arrests Rupert's family. Enraged at American paranoia, Shahdov fights the HUAC for the family's freedom.