Palfrey's new boss – known only as The Co-Ordinator – wants him to nail a misfit diplomat everyone suspects is spying for the Soviets. But Palfrey believes someone is making the man a scapegoat, and he decides to find out why.

A senior official at the Ministry of Defence is carrying on a clandestine affair with a young woman from Czechoslovakia. When the couple vanish, the Co-Ordinator fears a serious breach in national security.

The Co-Ordinator calls a press conference to announce the defection of a celebrated Russian author, but Palfrey urges caution. He suspects a trap, especially after the KGB starts to pressure for the author's return.

A stolen Russian icon leads Palfrey to the door of a wealthy industrialist who makes periodic trips to the Eastern Bloc. Why did the man not report the theft? And why is a young East German visiting his home?