Hermann Wolff, a Wehrmacht Colonel assigned to German's intelligence agency, the Abwehr, investigates a suspicious train crash on the outskirts of Berlin with his right-hand man, Lieutenant Johann Bauer. Among the belongings of one of the bystanders is one of a spy's standard tools of the trade. When interrogated, its owner claims to have stolen it from a Japanese man named "Maki Katsuhiko..."
the thief claims to have stolen,
gibt es nichts außer diesem Zündholzheftchen,
das ein Dieb der Leiche geklaut haben will.
il n’y a rien d’autre que ces allumettes
qu’un pauvre voleur
non c'è nemmeno nulla 
che faccia pensare che Maki fosse una spia.
é a caixa de fósforos que um
ladrãozinho disse ter roubado dele.