American Combined Intelligence Agency spy James Bond (Barry Nelson) arrives at the Casino Royale in Monte Carlo, Monaco, but is shot at while entering. He meets up with British Secret Service Secret Agent Clarence Leiter (Michael Pate) (this character was called Felix Leiter in the original Ian Fleming novel). He briefs Bond about his mission then Bond runs into old flame Valerie Mathis (Linda Christian) (she is an amalgam of the Vesper Lynd and Rene Mathis characters from the novel). She introduces him to Le Chiffre (Peter Lorre), who is the Chief Soviet Agent in the area, and is nearly always accompanied by three henchman called Basil, Zoltan, and Zuroff. Le Chiffre has been gambling with the Soviet funds of his employers, and he's down several million francs. Bond's mission is to beat him at a high-stakes card game of Baccarat so Le Chiffre will be ruined.
—Jamie Skinner