When the iron-fisted ruler of a small African nation dies, his top aide, Roberto Strausmann (Raul Julia), will do anything to avoid a regime change, so he recruits struggling film actor Jack Noah (Richard Dreyfuss) to pose as the deceased political leader. Jack looks just like the man he's portraying, and, with Strausmann's expert instruction, he successfully fools the world. But as Jack falls for ravishing humanitarian Madonna Mendez (Sônia Braga), he decides to use his influence for good.