Sam Durell was flying to Rome to take the place of a dead man. Another agent for the C.I.A. had been cut down by the enemy. He had been found in a back alley, his blind eyes staring up at the brilliant Italian sun.

Well, Durell thought, it was simply the business they were in. The profit-and-loss factor in an international game called The Cold War.

He hadn't been briefed yet on his assignment. But he did know one thing -- he was being followed. That meant the killer was now on his trail. That also meant that his only contact, Lili Lamaris, was in deadly danger.