A Transylvanian vampire travels to London, where he meets an implacable foe in Dr. Van Helsing.

The bespectacled spymaster is once more called from retirement to come to the aid of the 'Circus'--and he returns with a vengeance. The murder of an emigre Soviet General who was also a British agent, sends him digging into the past on a twisted trail across Europe that moves, inexorably, towards a final showdown with his old adversary, Karla of Moscow Centre.