Somewhere in Europe, a scientific research institute, houses the lair of one of the leaders of a terrorist organization called The Black Hand. Zhan Raur, an Albanian who, under a phlegmatic exterior, is suffering from a delirium of power and also from a heart condition, awaits the visit of an unknown correspondent carrying precious documents. But the F.B.I. He has been replaced by one of his agents, Thomas Asher, who is responsible for unlocking the secrets and ramifications of The Black Hand.