Never have Quiller's survival skills been so crucial as in the eerily prophetic mission code-named "Solitaire". When the body of the agent he was supposed to protect is discovered in the burnt wreck of a car, Quiller must unveil the truth behind rumors of a bomb threat somewhere in Europe.

Posing as an international arms dealer, he infiltrates Nemesis, a group of deeply religious Euro-terrorist fanatics who follow a psychopathic and extremely intelligent leader. Quiller's final meeting with Nemesis transpires on Pan Am Flight 905, which carries 20,000 pounds of explosives and 40 cylinders of nerve gas - and has disappeared from the radar screens. Quiller alone must stop the plane and its suicidal terrorist crew from reaching their unknown destination.