the magazine features sammy and joe's character, the escapist, an anti-fascist superhero who combines traits of (among others) houdini, captain america, batman, the phantom, and the scarlet pimpernel. the escapist becomes tremendously popular, but like talent behind superman, the writers and artists of the comic get a minimal share of their publisher's revenue. joe and sammy are slow to realize that they are being exploited, as they have private concerns: joe is trying to help his family escape from prague and has fallen in love with the bohemian rosa saks, who has her own artistic aspirations; while sammy works to find his sexual identity and seeks progress in his professional and literary career.