Beautiful seductive and extremely dangerous Franca Tantardini is one of Italy's most ruthless political extremists. When she is captured in a shoot-out her fanatical young lover Giancarlo Battestini vows to set her free and with quiet watchfulness waits for the moment to strike.

In Rome a British businessman Geoffery Harrison has been taken hostage by a ruthless organised crime syndicate - kidnap is after all a growth industry. The British Government are adamant that they will not pay the two-million-dollar ransom and discharge responsibility to the Italian police. As political wrangling takes hold Battestini sees a weakness and realises that the only way to secure the release of his beloved Franca is to capture Harrison and bargain his life for hers.

The authorities are confronted with a terrible choice. Should they release a woman who has masterminded the murder of so many or let an innocent man die?