The Baron

After a robbery in his london shop, antique dealer John Mannering a.k.a. The Baron, is persuaded by Templeton-Green to work for Diplomatic Intelligence. He travels behind the Iron Curtin and meets his contact Cordelia. They encounter a corrupt Party member who attempts to frame them for the murder of his lover, the London jewel thief.

Mannering attends the funeral of Jim Carey, a former army colleague. After receiving a message that Carey is still alive, Mannering agrees to go undercover for Templeton-Green. An elaborate plan to steal a $ 1 m jewel is bad enough but becomes worse when Cordelia is used as a hostage to ensure that the Baron cooperates with Carey.

The Baron does a deal with a scheming insurance agent to recover a £ 100,000 Aztec mask from an ex-con. However the former crook's gang leader has a different idea and will even hurt his one-time friend's daughter to get the mask.

When Mannering gets a message to buy The Four Horsemen, he travels to Khakania, a country gripped in civil war. The Horseman are a famous statue worth over $1m. The money from the statue will help fund the rebel cause. The Baron tries to flee the country with the rebel leader's daughter and statue but is hounded by the secret police who are always one step ahead of him.

An undercover British agent is caught in an Eastern Bloc country and names Mannering as his contact. The Baron and Cordelia are in the country to pass over some money. They are warner not to go to the rendezvous by Bradfield as it is a trap. Cordelia is caught and held by the police. Mannering has a plan to kidnap the head of the police but there is a double agent in the Bradfield house.

Mannering is invited by Sir Frederick Alton to his country home. When he enters the house he hears a woman crying for help. As he goes to help he's knocked unconscious. He wakes up to discover that he has a twin double. Mannering manages to change places with the double and his captors kill the man they belive to be the Baron. They then let him in on their plans to steal the Crown Jewels only for Cordelia to turn up at the wrong moment.