Greg Wonder and Elliot Vance have about as much in common as black and white. The former, a disenchanted giant introvert, is spending a short 'vacation' at the local penitentiary and when he is allowed out he plays a mean sax down at o hot little jazz club. The latter, a 'laid back, cool cat', has been sponsored to sail around the world on a wind-surf - one of the many adventures he undertakes with total enthusiasm in between jobs as a stuntman. These two are poles apart, in actual fact thousands of miles a part. But it doesn't stop them be-ing offered - at the same time - a highly secret and highly paid job by a somewhat anonymous organisation. Vague, very vague details about a little work they finally accept only after they have received a heavy advance, with a promise of one million dollars each after the mysterious job has been completed. The meeting between the two of them at the organisation's New York office doesn't bode well for a successful outcome. They are at each other's throats right from the start, and con-sidering the lack of diplomacy on both their parts it isn't difficult to imagine how they han-dle the introductions. They meet the boss, who tells them that to earn the million bucks they both must accept the job, otherwise no dice. Greg and Elliot figure that for a million dollars each they can stand each other for the week necessary to do the job. They are stunned to discover that the organisation deals with "doubles". That's right - doubles! They have to take the pieces of two highly influential gentlemen - the agency's clients, who for reasons of security need to be substituted so that they can be somewhere else 'at the same time'. The two clients are the spitting images of Greg and Elliot. Unbelievable! It's an expensive job, one that requires maximum discretion. The two men - cousins Antonio and Bastiano Coimbra of Rio de Janei-ro - own everything from cattle ranches to banks. Introductions are made in an atmosphere of surprise and disbelief. The only difference be-tween Greg, Elliot and the two cousins is the weight of their individual wallets. Down to business - the cousins have been receiving threats on their lives. The reason being that rivals are doing everything in their power to stop the cousins signing an important con-tract - the signing of which is to take place in seven days. Greg and Elliot must replace the cousins in everything, and if they succeed in discovering exactly who is making the threats they will receive a bonus of half a million dollars... each! Who cares if someone should find it strange that the 'cousins' have changed overnight from two suave, elegant gentlemen to being a couple of rough, un-smooth heavies. No one in their wildest dreams will imagine the truth. They reach on agreement, and Greg and Elliot take off for Rio with two objectives in mind - stay alive and earn the extra five hundred thousand dollars. Enough motive to turn the world upside down.
Their adventure begins…