With Callan captured, imprisoned, and interrogated by the Soviets, his superiors stage his funeral. But Callan's pal and sometime employee, Lonely, sees through the charade and makes a nuisance of himself, much to the section's chagrin.
Upon Callan's return, dire circumstances force him to accept a new position within the section--one that affords an entirely different perspective on his work, particularly regarding his relationship with Lonely.
When a third-party broker offers to sell the names of British agents in Eastern Europe for £100,000, Callan suspects a leak in London and races to find it before the broker's proposal expires.
After Moscow expels a British cultural attache, Callan assigns Cross to harass a Russian embassy employee and force the man's withdrawal. This tit-for-tat arrangement turns complicated, though, when the Russian's family gets involved.
Cross's behavior on his previous assignment calls into question his fitness for service. Nevertheless, Callan assigns his former rival the perilous task of protecting a dissident Russian poet.
Relieved of his duties, Callan intends to go on holiday. However, his superiors have relieved him of his passport as well--forcing him to acquire a new one by any means necessary.
Assigned to shadow an upper-crust economist expected to defect to Poland, Callan becomes involved with a beautiful widow who has good reason to despise intelligence agents.
Callan tries to intercept an assassin hired to murder a visiting dignitary but winds up assuming the killer's identity. Will he find himself forced to fulfill the contract, too?
Alone at a remote safe house, Callan debriefs a high-ranking prospective defector--a man known as Richmond, who promises to reveal a traitor within the section.
Attempting to stay one step ahead of Richmond, Callan visits an old nemesis in prison: Flo Mayhew, the woman who set a trap for him using Lonely as bait. Now, however, he intends to turn the tables.
Still on the loose, Richmond activates a sleeper agent and seeks refuge in the man's home. Meanwhile, Hunter has marshaled all of the section's resources to find the Russian and flush him out.