When a Russian trawler is mysteriously wrecked off Guernsey in the Channel Islands, British Intelligence wants to investigate because one of their agents was on board. However, the investigation could prove embarrassing since their agent was planning to defect with the trawler and Madam Anna Cantalena, Nobel Prize-winning marine biologist.

Introducing Jonathan Anders, Britain's youngest secret agent. 23 years old, a chess-playing athlete with an intensely individual point of view, Jon is still in the middle of an intensive 3 year training period when an emergency forces his superiors to use him in the field.

To discover what has caused a Russian trawler to sail into the reefs of Guernsey. Jon is called in to do some skin-diving around the wreck. A routine assignment? But Jon is not content with a routine investigation... And he promptly finds himself entangled in an international misadventure -- with the Russians trying to exterminate him and the British police pursing him for murder!