At the precipice of a major disarmament plan, Soviet intrigue threatens to tip the world into all-out war

The treaty is so simple that the American president can hardly believe his luck. In exchange for a few million tons of grain, the Russians, gripped by famine, will withdraw all troops and missiles from Eastern Europe. What's more, this great success comes in an election year! It's too good to be true - and something is about to go wrong.

As soon as the first grain shipments arrive, the Politburo plans to disrupt the disarmament talks, allowing them to tactfully back out of their half of the bargain. The whole Soviet plan rests on the shoulders of KGB Agent Altmann, a Holocaust survivor who's much cleverer than his handlers realize. Altmann knows that the KGB is wary of him, and one way or another, this lone spy is about to change the world.