Robert Lane, an agent for the ultra-secret government department known as Sector Three, is sent to locate the abductors of Sir Gordon Thurston, the incoming Head of MI6.  He discovers that this is the work of an ex-KGB General, Pilatov, whose purpose is to unite a number of powerful pro-Soviet groups into a single force to bring about the restoration of the old regime in Russia.  Pilatov has kidnapped Sir Gordon as a demonstration to the other factions of what can be achieved to support their aims, as well as to gain information about British Intelligence by interrogation. Lane traces the Pilatov cell to Portugal, where a female Sector agent foils an attempt on his life, and then to Italy. In Milan a local agent tells Lane that Pilatov's ultimate aim is to transport Sir Gordon to Russia, to a desolate area called Monchegorsk where he is to be interrogated in the almost completed Zemitimir Institute. The agent is then killed, and Pilatov's men interrogate Lane. He eventually escapes and is aided by Sector Three's man inside the Pilatov cell to leave Italy for Monchegorsk, where he joins forces with the Sector's local group. After learning that Sir Gordon is a prisoner in a city centre apartment, Lane watches the place until the transfer to the Zemitimir Institute. During the journey Lane and the local agents intercept the Pilatov cell and a gun battle ensues that culminates with the death of Sir Gordon. Lane reports to London Control that the mission is over, but is told that Pilatov must be eliminated to ensure that any information extracted from Sir Gordon can never be used against MI6 or The Sector. Pilatov is reported to have fled to Egypt, and Lane leaves Monchegorsk in pursuit. He knows that this will be anticipated, and that Pilatov is enraged at the loss of his credibility among the other pro-Soviet factions. Lane gets to Luxor knowing that he is a marked man, and that somewhere Pilatov waits...