Captain America enters SHIELD headquarters through their secret hologram entrance. He meets with Agent Gail Runciter to find if they have learned anything about the doughlike creature he fought in issue #270 and to apologize for his rudeness to her in issue #268. While Runciter sits in on the assessment of the captured Vermin, Cap stops by to check on Michael, Arnie Roth’s friend who was injured in the adventure in #270 when his mind was forced into a robotic body.
Later, Steve Rogers is returning from grocery shopping with Bernie Rosenthal and Anna Kappelbaum when they see that the local synagogue has been defaced with a swastika on the front doors. They learn from the rabbi that the inside has been vandalized as well, with the Torah being stolen. This is the latest in a series of recent incidents against Jewish centers in the country and they may have been inspired by a planned neo-Nazi rally on Long Island. Bernie tells Steve there is a counter-demonstration being organized and that everyone from the building plans to be there….
Interlude One: A masked figure ponders a family portrait then vows that "Captain America must die!" [Spoiler: this is the first appearance of Baron Helmut Zemo, whose identity will not be revealed until a future issue.]
Interlude Two: Neo-Nazi leader Harry Todd whips his followers into a frenzy with a fountain of hateful rhetoric to prepare for the rally.
Interlude Three: Samuel Wilson A/K/A Cap’s partner the Falcon announces that he will be a candidate for Congress. Williams, a reporter from the Daily Bugle, aggressively questions Sam about his criminal background, expressing skepticism that a man can truly reform; Sam reacts angrily and the press conference is hastily concluded….
Later that week, Steve stops by an advertising agency to deliver some artwork but when he hears the manager make an anti-Semitic remark, he tears up his work and angrily storms out….
On the day of the Nazi rally, Steve is there at Robert Moses State Park with Bernie, Josh, Mike, and Mrs. Kappelbaum. Bernie introduces them to Sammy Bernstein, organizer of the anti-Nazi protest—and Bernie’s ex-husband. Steve and friends are somewhat taken aback by this discovery…. As the Nazis begin their hate-filled speeches, Steve and company are surprised to discover they only number a few…and that the protest group is actually inflating their importance by attracting the media’s attention to their rally. Sammy starts spouting anti-Nazi rhetoric, whipping his followers into a frenzy, and the supposedly peaceful demonstration becomes a violent clash between the two groups….
Elsewhere, the masked figure leaves off watching the televised rally to press a button, restoring Doughboy to life. The bloblike creature grows and bursts out of its tank at SHIELD HQ and smashes through the walls, picking up the freed Vermin in its wake. It crashes through into the room where Arnie is sitting with Michael….
At the rally, Steve takes advantage of the chaos to duck away and change into Captain America. He leaps on the stage where Sammy Bernstein and Harry Todd are locked in combat. Cap addresses the crowd to denounce both the Nazis and those who would adopt their hate tactics to oppose them. Harry and Sammy leap at Cap simultaneously and Cap swiftly steps to one side, allowing the two maniacs to fall on their faces. But Bernie, watching all this, has suddenly recognized that Steve Rogers is Captain America….