A few months after the end of World War II, John Russell is walking home along the banks of the Seine when Soviet agent Yevgeny Shchepkin falls into step alongside him. Shchepkin tells Russell that Moscow is interested in recruiting him, and even refusing will result in him becoming more entangled in the Soviet net. Both spies are stuck, but if they can come up with something the Americans want or need badly enough, then perhaps Russell will be forgiven for handing German atomic secrets over to Moscow and Shchepkin might be offered the sort of sanctuary that also safeguards the lives of his family. In this fifth adventure (after Potsdam Station), every decision Russell makes now is a dangerous one.