A demobilized sailor with a mysterious past cannot find a place in post-war America. He changes one job after another, until he accidentally meets a charismatic founder of a religious cult, a famous writer and philosopher. To the surprise of followers of the fashion teaching, their guru makes the aggressive marginal his closest aide. While the new faith wins fans, the former hobo start asking questions about what he believes in and who is his mentor really. But some mysteries should better remain unsolved...