Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin are undercover as husband and wife aboard a private luxury yacht which is suspected to be carrying a kidnapped Hungarian-born scientist during the Cold War. Willie goes out during the night to take a look in the one cabin that he had not seen while snooping around but it is a trap. After being knocked out, he wakes up to find himself and Modesty, who is unconscious, shackled to their beds. After freeing himself and unshackling the unconscious Modesty, he wakes her up. She tells the story of what happened to her. Worried when he didn't return, Modesty went out on deck to look for Willie where she is grabbed held at gun point and drugged with an injection to her arm (implied).