Once more, George Smiley is brought out of retirement to look into the murder of an old colleague.

Smiley takes a trip to investigate his friend's flat for clues. After finding a series of clues that lead to something bigger, Smiley interrogates a man about Vladimir's whereabouts. And lastly, a picture of two men in bed with a woman stirs things up.

Smiley continues his investigation, now looking for a man named Otto in a small fishing community, only to find his decaying body in his boat, and a mysterious chalk mark he's seen before. Smiley talks to the now-perpetually afraid woman.

Smiley and his co-workers read through an extremely long deathbed confession. Using an undercover name, Smiley travels to Berne to attempt to find the missing pieces of the murder mystery. Meanwhile, we are introduced to a woman in an asylum.

Smiley interrogates a diplomat by showing him a series of photographs, and in turn, closes in on the person who killed Vladimir. He is lead to the asylum, and ironically, things eventually become clearer.