One callous criminal. One chance to bring him down. Mr Phipps's days of freelance assassinations may be behind him, along with the big pay outs, but after the debacle of one particular London day, working for the security services again is not so bad. Now Phipps is headed back to Germany alongside prickly MI5 agent Ellerby, on the trail of Berndt Olsen, a former Stasi agent turned human trafficker. Phipps and Ellerby are far from a harmonious pairing, but nevertheless they must work together to tear down an intricate crime network, while calling upon friends old and new. And Phipps must also handle the complication of an enemy with a very personal grudge against him.