Vienna, 1913. Lysander Rief, a young English actor, becomes caught up in a feverish affair with a beautiful, enigmatic woman. When she presses rape charges, however, he is mystified. Only a carefully plotted escape with the help of two mysterious British diplomats saves him from trial. The frenzied getaway sets off a chain of events that dismantles Rief's life as he knows it, and soon the men who helped coordinate his escape recruit him to carry out the murder of a complete stranger.