Klaus Barbie, the infamous "Butcher of Lyon," was directly responsible for the deaths of thousands during World War II. But unlike many Nazi war criminals, Barbie was able to escape from Europe to South America after the war with the help of American counter-intelligence forces; until his arrest in the early 1980s, he served as an anti-Communist counterinsurgency leader for various governments. This award-winning documentary traces Barbie's life from childhood through his 1987 trial.