'It is not just a question of blowing up a building or shooting a prime minister. Such bourgeois horseplay is not contemplated. Our operation must be delicate, refined and aimed at the heart of the Intelligence apparat of the West.'

Deep inside the Soviet Union a plot to ruin the British secret service takes shape. Under the guidance of the appalling Rosa Klebb, the spy-killing agency SMERSH come up with a trap which will not only assassinate the formidable James Bond but discredit everything he seemed to stand for. The trap is set in Istanbul: a beautiful girl, an invaluable Soviet coding machine – and lurking in the shadows the psychopath, Grant.