When disaffected KGB major Erich Stinnes is spotted in Mexico City, British intelligence agent Bernard Samson must entice him to take the final step and defect. With his domestic life in shambles and his career heading towards disaster, Bernard needs to prove his re-liability. And he knows Stinnes already: Bernard had been interrogated by him in East Berlin. But now, Bernard risks being entangled in a lethal web of old loyalties and old betrayals.

All he knows for sure is that he has to get Stinnes for London. Who's pulling the strings is another matter.