In 1975 Charlie Saines ranks as a master prototype machinist - happily employed if unchallenged as Amalgamated's chief tool grinder. More importantly to his six shop friends, he is a world-class jokester. When he finds in the morning newspaper that the airlines refuse to transport President Thieu's hoard of gold from Saigon out from under the approaching noses of the People's Army of Vietnam, the fun begins. A double spoof brings the unsuspecting gang of six along for the ride to find that occasionally even jokesters tell the truth. Together they test their mettle half a world away from home, surrounded by black-outs, bombs, and PAVN brutes intent on a job similar to theirs. Sobered, Charlie's gold rippers see real life up-close in the eyes of thousands of refugees, while Charlie learns the ultimate price of a good joke.