Zadig is a Marine who has lost his leg in combat. In a stateside hospital, he peppers his companions with corny jokes and makes a light-hearted nuisance of himself to the staff. His fellow patients, including Olson, Henderson, Mazelli, and Harris, are also amputees or equally seriously-injured men, and their losses have largely made them despondent and depressed, despite Zadig's efforts to keep things light. A tragic turn of events makes everyone on the ward see things in a new light.