It is May, 1967. The outbreak of the Arab/Israeli Six Day War is but weeks away. The place is Cairo. The story is Peter Marlow's, an Irish teacher and secret agent sent from London to find his friend and fellow spy, Henry Edwards who has vanished from Cairo.

During the course of this fool's errand, he also finds his former wife, Bridget, who is now deeply involved with Edwards both emotionally and professionally. Marlow moves easily British and Egyptian intelligence branches, attaching his allegiance to neither until he becomes the unwitting victim of a failed plot to topple Nasser.

Credible and dramatic, this is a story of callous political and human intrigue and of a mission which can only succeed if none of the men return.