In 1785, student Thomas Clarkson entered a Cambridge University essay competition and, stubborn and downcast, active and unstoppable, ended up becoming a pioneer of the abolition of slavery. In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands, Arnold Douwes managed to get many people in the small village of Nieuwlande to hide Jews: they weren't heroes, it was simply necessary for someone to push them to do it. And Arnold, a bit eccentric and a liar, did just that.