Palmer must navigate a web of double-crosses involving ex-CIA agents, Russian allies, and North Korean buyers. Production Context

The story picks up after Palmer is forcibly retired from the British Secret Service due to Cold War downsizing.

It was filmed back-to-back with Midnight in St. Petersburg (1996), often using the same cast and sets.

It serves as a sequel to the 1960s trilogy: The Ipcress File , Funeral in Berlin , and Billion Dollar Brain .