There’s not much laughter at the New Year celebrations in Washington this year - six weeks after John Kennedy’s murder nobody feels like letting their hair down. That much is true of Harry Jensen, a White House analyst who has seen his political dreams go up in smoke.

A faithful servant of the CIA has been forced to abandon the most brilliant stroke of his career and, refusing to obey orders, continues with his mission to protect both the important Russian he has turned into an agent for the US, and his colleagues.