Prof. Jonathan Jones, Tom Poston, is a brilliant yet peculiar scholar of Ancient Eastern languages who stumbles onto an amulet sent to his niece Cynthia Jones, Zeme North, by a boyfriend from an archeological dig. This small object hides three extraordinary powers that instantly pull the attention of the outside world into his quiet campus life:
- Pain by pointing: Whoever holds the amulet can inflict great pain on another living creature simply by pointing at them.
- Time slow for the target: By saying the word “Zotz!”, time grows sluggish for the intended target or targets.
- Instant death: If the holder points and speaks “Zotz!” at someone, that person can die instantly.
As word of these powers spreads, both government and Communist agents become keen to explore the amulet’s possible military uses. The premise serves as a sharp, allegorical reflection on the fears surrounding nuclear weapons in the era the story evokes.
Within the campus, Jones and his rival, Professor Horatio Kellgore, Jim Backus, are both jockeying for a promotion to lead the California university’s language department, a position that would come with the retirement of Dean Joshua Updike, Cecil Kellaway. The competition adds a layer of personal tension to the unfolding chaos sparked by the amulet’s powers.
A new colleague and potential romantic interest, Professor Virginia Fenster, Julia Meade, enters the frame with a mix of curiosity and skepticism. Her first appearance follows Jones’s fateful mention of Zotz, when she stands outside a window of his home during a thunderstorm, naked and exposed to nature’s sudden force. Jones, initially startled, offers her his suit jacket to preserve modesty and invites her inside, only to be pressed to leave once the moment passes and the storm seems to wind down. She explains, with a mix of practicality and astonishment, that she was struck by lightning and that the bolt’s electrical charge briefly stripped away her clothes. Hearing her out, Jones recognizes that her tale has some truth, and he lends her more of his niece’s clothes along with an umbrella to weather the remaining weather. The storm subsides, leaving the two to confront the strange coincidence that brought them together.
As the party at Dean Updike’s home spirals into chaos—a social event that underscores the unpredictable consequences of the amulet’s power—Jones’s relationship with Fenster becomes a focal point. Later, he refers to Fenster as Mrs. Jones, hinting that their ties could be closer than colleagues alone, either already formalized or soon to be.
Throughout, the amulet remains a mirror for human ambition and fear: a compact artifact capable of extraordinary harm, its existence drawing out government agents, campus politics, and personal entanglements in a story that uses humor and wonder to ask serious questions about power and responsibility.
