Leif Karlsson, a young engineer from Sweden, has been sent to Redstone Arsenal in Alabama by the Swedish government to learn more about the anti-aircraft missile system the Swedish armed forces had purchased. Once there, he finds that his upbringing has not prepared him for what life is like in the American South of the 1960s. A product of a very idealistic, liberal, and homogenous society, Leif must find a way to safely navigate a racially charged South, where religious beliefs, moral values, prejudice, and history have created a dangerous place to live for anyone who is not white. He's thrust into the eye of the storm when he witnesses a white man bullying Hailee, a beautiful, young black woman who works the line at the base cafeteria. Shocked, Leif can't understand the reasons behind the interaction-or his undeniable attraction to her. At first afraid to respond to his interest, Hailee soon finds herself stirred by the passion of this handsome and intriguing stranger, and she dares to dream as well. Set against the overheated emotional ambiance of the South in the days of fundamentalist religious fervency, violent racial turmoil, and obsessive fear of racial integration, Ikon is the story of two people who risked everything to break the taboo on their love.