A young boy Victor is collected from school by a stranger in a bowler hat
- the stranger says he has won Victor in a game of backgammon with Victors father. The stranger known as the Captain takes Victor to live with the sweet but withdrawn Lisa where he serves as her conduit to the outside world. From mysterious beginnings Graham Greenes final novel becomes a twisting thriller of smuggling jewel theft & international espionage which culminates in a dramatic showdown in Panama.