the book begins with the new york police department receiving a letter of warning from scotland yard chief inspector claud eustace teal, indicating that templar, after being inactive for six months (presumably since the events of "the saint goes on"), has relocated to the united states. the letter is accompanied by a dossier on templar's career thus far (charteris proceeds to give new readers a brief summary of past adventures dating back to the first saint novel, 1928's "meet - the tiger!").