A manhole opens at night in an empty street and out climbs Lieutenant-Colonel (UK) Norman Hyde (Jack Hawkins) in a Black tie. He gets into a Rolls-Royce Limited and drives home. There, he prepares seven envelopes, each containing an American crime paperback called ''The Golden Fleece'', halves of ten £5-notes and an unsigned invitation from “Co-operative Removals Limited” to lunch at the Cafe Royal.