L. Sidney Camp is a professor of Medieval Spanish Literature at a midwestern college, and he is returning to Spain for the first time since his only previous visit as a freshman in 1960. He has not kept up with the news about Spain (or anywhere else), concentrating on his pet subject, medieval Spanish literature. But now he decides to return to Spain. After all, he speaks Spanish – although it is of the medieval type, like someone speaking Shakespearean English today. As a result of a series of serendipitous happenings while in Spain, people confuse his name, L. Sid Camp, with that of el Cid Campeador, medieval hero of Spain, and believe he is the great Cid reincarnated. With his newfound friend Pancho Zinsano, Sid seemingly performs miracles – and saves Spain!