It is 1951, and the Korean War is in its second year. Called back to active duty, Jim Colling accepts the offer of a direct commission, with assignment to Signal Corps intelligence in Europe. On arriving in Germany, he discovers that he will be working for the CIA. His first assignment is to enter Soviet-occupied Poland and bring the wife and children of a Polish officer who has been providing information to the Agency, safely to the West. When carefully-laid CIA plans go awry, Colling, with the help of an old friend in Israeli intelligence, must improvise, using his ability at deception and subterfuge to complete the mission. Colling's journey takes him into the heart of the Russian military, where one misstep will mean the difference between life and death.