When an unauthorized letter is sent to Moscow alleging the U.S. government's willingness to help Russia attack China, former naval officer Charles Rone and his team are sent to retrieve it. They go undercover, successfully reaching out to Erika Kosnov, the wife of a former agent, now married to the head of Russia's secret police. Their plans are interrupted, however, when their Moscow hideout is raided by a cunning politician.

Italy, 1972. Political elections are taking place and Christian Democrat victory is expected; but the electronic computer of the Ministry of the Interior reveals that the party with the highest number is the Italian Communist Party.