In 1968, Istvan Pinter, a young Hungarian, escapes from political prison and heads for the Austrian border. Thirteen years later, Frank Manion"s first assignment as a newly-minted CIA case officer is to recruit a Russian diplomat the agency calls "Bagatelle". Frank travels to Rio de Janeiro to work with an older female officer, Julie d"Andrade. He pursues his target over three continents and when the case is compromised he leaves love and Julie behind and risks his life to salvage the operation. What went wrong? To find the answer, Manion has to go back to where it all began.