The sudden deaths of several of Steed's former army colleagues are revealed to be part of an elaborate engine of destruction, devised by a man court-martialled by them all. And now he is playing a deadly game.

The leaking of secrets at Carmadoc Research Establishment throws suspicion on to Steed, who must suffer the torment of house arrest while Tara goes in with a new partner.

Tara visits Steed in a special hospital following an injury to his leg. This is just the backdrop needed by Gerald Kafka, ex-head of Murder International, as he plans his revenge against Steed, who sent him to prison exactly seven years ago. At noon, Steed will die.

To infiltrate a peace conference, Arcos, a brilliant plastic surgeon, uses a new moulding technique to transform an agent into a duplicate Steed. But when the transformation proves to be unstable, Arcos decides they need the real Steed.

Members of the Institute of Timber Technology are being killed by a pair of caddish assassins, their advantage being an ability to destroy wood in seconds.

Steed, attempting to capture super-spy Merlin, is knocked out by a sleeping capsule, and wakes to find London deserted and under martial law. Firing squads are at large, and a nuclear bomb is holding the government to ransom.

When a member of the International Disarmament Committee is stabbed with a swordstick on a foggy night, it looks like the Gaslight Ghoul, murderer of the 1890's, has set up in business again. Can Steed and Tara catch him before the committee is severely lacking in personnel?