Dick McCarthy, star journalist of Philadelphia's Omnium, returns to Moscow to cover the rapid-fire developments in a newly revived round of arms control negotiations. After the arms agreement is signed, McCarthy prepares to leave, but is prevented by his association with a group of artists who have exhibited their unsanctioned works to test emerging political reforms. During a demonstration following the exhibit, McCarthy's partner, Frank Trudeau, is thrown in jail. McCarthy launches a campaign for Frank's release. Both the Soviet government, which is using Frank's arrest to force the media to accept a restrained code of conduct, and the US embassy, which is reluctant to disturb improving relations between the US and the USSR, ignore the protests of McCarthy and the Omnium. But when McCarthy discovers that the American ambassador, G. David Seabury, is quietly using his diplomatic position to further plans to run for the US Senate, the balance shifts. With nothing but journalistic weapons at his disposal, will McCarthy be able to thwart both governments and spring Trudeau from jail?
