Catch-22 follows Captain John Yossarian, a fighter pilot in World War II, who has one wish: to come out of the war alive. Looking for a way out, Yossarian falsely claims that he is insane, only to be told that by knowing he is insane, he has proven that he is obviously sane. In short, he finds himself caught in a “catch 22,” an expression created in the novel by author Joseph Heller.