`The Sandbaggers-Series 1 Episode Guide (with synopses)`

1. First Principles 2. A Proper Function Of Government 3. Is Your Journey Really Necessary? 4. The Most Suitable Person 5. Always Glad To Help 6. A Feasible Solution 7. Special Relationship

CAST
Neil Burnside. . . . . . . . . . . . Roy Marsden
Willie Caine. . . . . . . . . . . . . Ray Lonnen
Sir Geoffrey Wellingham. . . . .Alan MacNaughtan
Matthew Peele. . . . . . . . . . . Jerome Willis
Jeff Ross. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bob Sherman
"C" (Sir James Greenley). . . . . Richard Vernon
Diane Lawler. . . . . . . . . .Elizabeth Bennett
Jake Landy. . . . . . . . . . . . . David Glyder
Brian Milton. . . . . . . . . . .Barkley Johnson
Ted Prescott. . . . . . . . . . . . Richard Shaw
Alan Denson. . . . . . . . . . . . Steven Grives
Stan Barclay. . . . . . . . . . .Michael O'Hagan
Sam Lawes. . . . . . . . . . . . . Brian Osborne
Laura Dickens. . . . . . . . . . . . .Diane Keen
Bruce. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Paul Haley
Edward Tyler. . . . . . . . . . . . .Peter Laird

1."First Principles" Written by Ian Mackintosh Produced by Michael Ferguson Directed by Michael Ferguson First Broadcast Date (UK): September 11, 1978Sandbagger Willie Caine reports to Burnside that he was shadowed on a walk around London. Investigation reveals that a couple of fledgling Norwegian intelligence officers are responsible; their new Chief of Service, Lars Torvik, is in town. Burnside gently chides Torvik for testing his men in this manner, and Torvik hints that he will give SIS the results of an intelligence - gathering operation he is mounting if Burnside will help him with training. Shortly afterward, Torvik tells him that his operation has gone wrong, and a Norwegian spy plane is down fifty miles inside the Norwegian/Russian border on the Kola Peninsula. He asks Burnside to mount a rescue operation and destroy the downed plane, and Neil refuses on the grounds that it's too dodgy, and Norway has no intelligence favors to trade.

Later that day, Neil's ex-father-in-law, Sir Geoffrey Wellingham, informs Neil that the P.M. is ordering SIS to take on the job because the Norwegians have offered to buy a high-tech missile the British are developing, and thus help prop up the troubled British military-industrial complex. If the British drag their feet, the Norwegians say they will approach the CIA and buy a competing American missile. Reluctantly but meticulously, Burnside begins planning the operation, and Caine and fellow Sandbagger Jake Landy are briefed to parachute into Russia, mine the plane, and lead the crew out on foot. The next day, Torvik presses for immediate action, but Burnside refuses to move until all contingencies are provided for.

The following morning, just as Caine and Landy are jumping, Neil gets a message from Torvik that their assistance is no longer required. Almost simultaneously, CIA station chief Jeff Ross sends Neil a message to abort the job. When Ross and Burnside meet, Ross tells him that Torvik contacted the Americans and asked for assistance. In Russia, Caine and Landy find the plane deserted and narrowly escape being blown up with it by the explosives set by the CIA men. They set out to catch up with the agents and scientists along their likely escape route, and do so just in time to see them on the horizon - being captured by the Russian army. Caine and Landy's escape route would have circumvented the Russian position that the Americans walked straight into. Caine and Landy escape to Norway on foot.

Burnside flies to Oslo to meet Torvik, and angrily tells him,

"Our battles aren't fought at the end of a parachute. They're won and lost in drab, dreary corridors in Westminster-and hopefully in Oslo. If you want James Bond go to your library, but if you want a successful operation sit at your desk and think, and then think again."

Torvik thanks Neil for his advice, and offers him a drink in the airport bar. Neil responds, "Herr Torvik, if I had a glass in my hand at this moment I'd shove it down your throat", then turns on his heel and stalks back to the plane.

Olaf Pooley as Lars Torvik Brian Haines as Vice Chief of Air Staff Roger Kemp as Asst. Chief of Air Staff

2."A Proper Function Of Government"
Written by Ian Mackintosh Produced by Michael Ferguson Directed by Michael Ferguson First Broadcast Date (UK): September 25, 1978After a bad night in the "Ops Room" (the operational nerve center of SIS), Burnside is in a particularly bad mood when Willie drops in for morning coffee. Singapore station has screwed up a job badly. Also, Neil has sent Jake Landy to Iran on a border surveillance job-without official clearance-as a favour to the CIA, and Peele has just found out about it. On top of that, Willie tells him about a signal from Vienna station to the effect that the chief scientific advisor to the Cabinet, Sir Donald Hopkins, has turned up in Vienna. Since SIS is supposed to be informed when high-ranking officials are abroad, he asks duty officer Sam Lawes (after telling him he should have seen the signal two hours ago) to protest to the Cabinet office through the Foreign Office. The FO phrases the query differently and elicits the information that Hopkins is on vacation-in Scotland.

Although his failure to give a correct leave address could be perfectly innocent, Neil is afraid it could be something more sinister. He orders the Vienna station to keep Hopkins under surveillance and decides to take the matter up with Sir Geoffrey Wellingham, a friend of Hopkins and, of course, Neil's ex-father in law. Neil's ex-wife, Belinda, has been pestering Sir Geoffrey to get them back together. As they discuss Hopkins, Wellingham suddenly realizes that Hopkins had gone on a trade mission to Moscow the previous summer, and both men conclude that Hopkins could have been "turned" at the time.

Meanwhile, back at headquarters, Willie Caine is horrified to learn that an East African dictator named Lutara has had an innocent British journalist executed as a spy-his sixth "official murder" of a British national this year. Lutara has crossed swords with SIS before-one of the notches on his gun was a young Sandbagger named Bob Judd, dating back to when Burnside was "Sandbagger One" and Willie was Number Two. Willie is not a violent man by any standard, but admits he would readily give a year's pay for an opportunity to assassinate Lutara. Caine decides to do a little manipulating, and arranges for an intel assessment of the Lutara regime to wind up on Neil's desk.

Burnside, who wants a shot at Lutara just as badly, begins the clearance process for an assassination, while ordering both Caine and Denson to Vienna to "lift" Hopkins and get him back to London. Stopping the potential defector is crucial, but Neil also wants to kill Lutara himself, and is trying to "clear out" Willie so he can credibly take the job himself. However, there's a catch. The PM, a longtime friend of Hopkins, refuses to believe that he may be defecting, and will not allow the "lift" without concrete proof. Meanwhile Neil volunteers to assassinate Lutara with all his Sandbaggers now conveniently unavailable. But Burnside, as an SIS director, needs special permission to go on assignment, and Wellingham tells Neil that he will refuse to grant it. Neil then intimates that he would be willing to consider trying a reconciliation with Belinda in exchange for this favour.

It becomes a moot point, however, when the PM forbids the Lutara assassination, saying that any form of official murder is abhorrent to his administration. Shortly thereafter, the proof SIS needs on Hopkins materializes when one of the Sandbaggers discovers that a supposedly retired Russian agent-whose specialty is the spiriting away of defectors-has been in touch with Hopkins. If Hopkins defects it could bring down the Government.

Instantly, the PM reverses his stand on lifting Hopkins and on assassination as well, saying that if they can't get Hopkins to come quietly, they should assassinate him. Wellingham asks Neil to go to Vienna and take charge. Repulsed by the PM's decision, and not wanting to undermine Willie's authority in the field, Neil flatly refuses. Angered by this, especially after the "Belinda tactic", Wellingham tells Neil that failure on this will be the end of his SIS career.

In Vienna, Denson stages a car crash with the Russian agent, preventing him from keeping a rendezvous with Hopkins. Caine meets Hopkins in the park and, somewhat uncomfortably, tells him he can choose between being escorted back to London or being killed where he stands. Hopkins wearily starts the journey home with Willie.

Laurence Payne as Sir Donald Hopkins

3."Is Your Journey Really Necessary?" Written by Ian Mackintosh Produced by Derek Bennett Directed by Derek Bennett First Broadcast Date (UK): October 2, 1978In this episode we see just how ruthless, cruel and downright detestable Burnside can be; indeed, it almost put me off watching any more of the series!

In the Ops room, Willie and Neil are monitoring progress of Jake Landy's attempted escape from Russia after an unauthorized assassination. When it becomes evident that he will not escape, Burnside orders Alan Denson, who is just across the frontier for backup, to kill Jake rather than let him be taken alive.

While trying to defend the unauthorized mission to "C", and thus save his job, Neil tells "C" that the job was a favor to the CIA, and that SIS needs the return favors from the Americans to be able to operate. "C" then hands Neil a problem in France. An Embassy official, brother of a prominent M.P. named Romney, is apparently having a homosexual affair, but cannot be recalled without evidence. Neil hands it to Paris station after initiating F.O. clearance with Wellingham.

Upon his return, Denson is haunted by the fact that he had to kill his friend and colleague-especially since Jake, knowing he had to die, had turned to face Denson at the last moment in order to give him a better shot. Alan tells Willie he wants to quit and marry his longtime girlfriend, Sally Graham.

Neil, not wanting to lose another Sandbagger, decides the only way to keep the Special Section intact is to get Denson to change his mind. He orders Willie to start a "digging" operation to find some dirt on Sally-enough to get Alan to break it off. Terrorist activity in Germany gives Burnside an excuse to send Alan abroad and get him out of the way. Meanwhile, Sally has dinner with an old male friend to celebrate her engagement, and Willie tails her and takes photos.

Burnside confronts Sally the next day, saying he'll use the photos to convince Alan that she slept with her dinner partner, and tells her to break up with Alan. She refuses, and Burnside threatens to have her framed for prostitution-or whatever else it will take-saying, "I'm sorry, but you really wouldn't know what hit you."

Back at the office, "C" reveals to Neil that Wellingham used the photos of Romney's brother taken by Paris station to get Romney, a bitter adversary, to resign. "C" comments, "a few photographs, a little twisting of the facts, and it's nothing short of blackmail"-just like Neil's threat to Sally.

That night, Alan calls Sally from Germany, saying he wants to postpone the wedding. Sally, who is slightly drunk and quite depressed, assumes that Neil has gotten to Alan, and hangs up on him. Distracted, Alan hurriedly leaves the embassy, and is struck and killed by a taxicab while crossing the street. When Neil and Willie hear of it, they hurry over to Sally's flat-and discover that she has committed suicide with Scotch and barbiturates.

Brenda Cavendish as Sally Graham Andrew Bradford as Phil Fyffe

4. "The Most Suitable Person"
Written by Ian Mackintosh Produced by Michael Ferguson Directed by David Reynolds First Broadcast Date (UK): October 9, 1978Willie goes to the SIS field school to try and get a replacement for Alan Denson after Burnside scoffs at the notion that Colin Grove, a young officer in Mission Planning, is ready and willing to volunteer. Follett, the head of the field school, reluctantly suggests a top-flight student named Laura Dickens. Neil is even more reluctant to accept her, but agrees to an interview after reading her impressive dossier.

Jeff Ross, head of CIA's London station, tells Neil that Colin Grove has been seeing a psychiatrist named Sturdee, born Hungarian under the name of Zurdig. Since Grove regularly sees top secret material, Jeff is concerned that U.S. interests may be compromised. Neil assigns Grove to Helsinki station for a few days of "busy work" to keep him away from secret material until the situation is checked out.

Meanwhile, in Gibraltar, the Morocco #2, Desmond Yardley, is found murdered in an alley. Neil wants to send Willie to investigate, but Peele thinks there will be a jurisdictional squabble with MI5. "C" allows Neil to send him "in anticipation of approval", a calculated gamble but a necessary one-since Yardley left Tangier for "Gib" in a big hurry, he had to have an urgent reason. When he gets there, Willie meets with DCI Michael Gomez and asks him to "leak" his arrival in hopes that Yardley's killers will expose themselves.

Laura Dickens is interviewed and reluctantly agrees to become a Sandbagger, but only until another can be found. Meanwhile, Willie is almost run over in an alleyway on "Gib".

Jeff Ross reveals to Neil that Sturdee's clients include a number of highly placed government and military officials, and that Grove is supposedly being treated for alcoholism, facts the CIA obtained during an illegal break-in. They discover that the clients-and Grove-met Sturdee at a "war-games" club, and deduce that Sturdee is passing secrets learned as professional confidences back to Moscow. Neil decides to recall Grove to London.

The MI5 man in Gibraltar confronts Willie, looking for information, and threatens trouble when Willie (truthfully) can't give him any. Burnside and Willie are mystified that whatever was so urgent apparently hasn't happened yet, so Neil sends Laura Dickens to Morocco to look for clues at the other end. While poring over records at the British Embassy there, Laura discovers that a terrorist, recently released from prison, may be planning revenge against Gibraltar, where he was refused asylum and arrested. Willie and Neil reach separate but identical conclusions that the terrorist is planning to shoot down an airliner on which the Governor of Gibraltar will be flying. The apparent inactivity was caused by the Governor's suffering a case of flu which caused him to miss his earlier scheduled plane.

On the morning of the flight, Neil confronts Grove and asks him to resign. Grove reveals that he has been "working" the psychiatrist on his own in a misguided effort to prove himself Sandbagger material, and that he had voiced his suspicions to an MI5 officer eight months previously. Neil tells Grove of the untold damage he nearly caused and angrily tells him to get out of the Directorate. Almost simultaneously, Willie and the Gibraltar police foil the terrorist attack.

Later, Peele tells Burnside that the MI5 man reported Caine, and that there will be trouble. Neil, smirking, responds that "Five" are going to have to shut up about it because they did nothing about the spy ring that Grove had told them was operating under their noses.

Stephen Greif as Detective Chief Inspector Gomez
John F. Landry as Steve Jackson
Christopher Benjamin as David Follett
Hubert Rees as Gordon Forsyth
Jonathan Coy as Colin Grove
David McAlister as Peter Waterhouse

5. "Always Glad To Help" Written by Ian Mackintosh Produced by Michael Ferguson Directed by David Reynolds First Broadcast Date (UK): October 9, 1978
Neil is summoned to the Ministry of Defence for a meeting with MOD's Director General of Intelligence and new Commodore of Intelligence. A Russian merchant vessel, the Karreganda, has been in the habit of calling only on ports in close proximity to NATO naval bases, and is suspected to be a spy ship, with an Olterra-style underwater outlet for divers. They want SIS to assign divers to photograph the hull. Neil feels that MOD simply doesn't want the blame if anything backfires, and anyway the evidence doesn't justify the risk. He refuses, but the DGI intends to apply formally anyway.

Back at the office, Deputy Chief Peele is on the warpath about operational expenses, in particular airfares for the Special Section. Sir Geoffrey Wellingham asks Neil to meet him after dinner-he's dining with Hamad, crown prince of the oil-rich sheikdom of Al-Jalatar. Hamad's father, Sheik Tariq, has very strong ties to the Soviets-so strong that even his Arab neighbors are unhappy about it. Wellingham reveals to Neil that Hamad wants to overthrow his dad, and says he'll turn the sheikdom pro-West and buy British if England supports the coup-quickly. Wellingham wants this coup to be his "baby" without involving MOD until the last possible moment.

Burnside, urging caution, clashes with Peele, who wants to move quickly. With budget time around the corner, a successful coup could justify more funding for SIS, but Burnside points out that if Hamad is not what he seems, the backlash could destroy SIS' credibility with disastrous effects. Also, despite Wellingham's wishes, Neil stresses that it is necessary to consult MOD for technical information, and to be certain of SAS involvement when the operation starts. "C" tells Neil to start conducting checks on Hamad, and tells Peele to speak to MOD.

Burnside orders Laura Dickens to "get close" to Hamad to see what she can find out about his motives. Reluctantly, Laura accepts the assignment, borrows a car from the pool, and contrives an accident in front of Hamad's Rolls-Royce. The trick works. Hamad rescues the damsel in distress, and they begin dating. Meanwhile, Neil asks Jeff Ross to find out if CIA has anything on Hamad. An unexpected bonus may materialize when Willie is sent to Ankara station to "lift" a potential Russian defector who is a supposed expert on Middle East affairs.

At MOD, Peele is rebuffed by the DGI, who, clearly having an axe to grind, tells Peele that they could stall for months. Peele asks him point-blank what he wants, and DGI tells him about the Karreganda. The two agree to trade favours. Later, after the Karreganda file is cleared by Burnside and Director of Intelligence Tyler, Peele changes the verbiage in the file to make the MOD request sound more urgent than it really is. Not knowing this yet, Burnside is astonished and angry when the operation is cleared by the FCO.

One lead dries up when Willie's "defector" in Ankara turns out to have nothing of real value and is "boomeranged"-that is, the British will not endanger détente by accepting him. Later that night-or rather, in the wee hours of the next morning-Jeff Ross drops by Neil's flat with the results of the CIA check on Hamad, which are inconclusive. As they are talking, the door buzzer heralds the arrival of Laura who reveals that Hamad has proposed marriage, and that he is going to Houston to bone up on the oil business-NOT returning to Al-Jalatar.

Puzzled, and not having the grounds to prevent the coup, Burnside, Willie and Laura assemble in Neil's office a half-hour before "C"'s deadline of noon to discuss whether Hamad is pro-West or pro-Soviet. Laura says he seems to be pro-Arab, and with that the picture suddenly becomes clear. Hamad was setting up the British, planning to have Al-Jalatar's Arab neighbors repel the British invaders to convince Tariq that he did not need Soviet support.

That night, Burnside sees the changes Peele had made to the Karreganda file in order to hoodwink the FCO into approving it, but since the divers are carrying no communication equipment into the dockyard he cannot abort the mission.The SIS divers brave severe weather and current conditions and bring back the photos, which show that the Karreganda does have an Olterra/Disco Volante-style underwater hatch. Burnside tells Peele that they both were luckier than they deserved-this time.

Peter Miles as Hamad
Gerald James as Director General of Intelligence
Terence Longden as Commodore (Intelligence)
Alan Thompson as Winfield
Malcolm Hebden as Morris
Peter Ivatts as Wilson

6. "A Feasible Solution" Written by Ian Mackintosh Produced by Michael Ferguson Directed by Michael Ferguson First Broadcast Date (UK): October 23, 1978
Burnside reports to Peele that Professor Ronald Colby, a retired missile engine specialist, has gone missing in Cyprus, where he was vacationing with his daughter. Since MI5 are handling the investigation in England, and the Cypriot police on their home turf, it's not technically a matter for SIS yet. Shortly afterward, news arrives that a Russian missile guidance systems advisor named Ygorov has disappeared in Syria. Burnside tells the Ops Room staff to start digging for information.

Meanwhile, Burnside visits SIS psychiatrist Philip Jeremiah with some questions about Laura Dickens. It seems that Neil has taken a fancy to Laura but senses she has a hang-up of some sort. He learns that her prudish upbringing had ill-prepared her for a disastrous marriage that lasted only a week.

Back in the Ops Room, Bruce reports that Colby and his daughter Marion were apparently set up for a kidnapping. They were invited to visit Cyprus by Marion's handsome new Greek Cypriot boyfriend, who disappeared as soon as the Professor did. Also, the Russians are frantically trying to locate Ygorov in Cyprus.

Neil, Willie, and Laura conclude that the Greek Cypriot National Front want to use missiles against the Turks to drive them out of Cyprus, and are intent on using Colby and Ygorov to help build them inside the country to avoid the risks of arms smuggling. However, there's no evidence or reason to justify any direct SIS involvement-yet.

Then the No.2 in Cyprus, Charles Norrich, is machine-gunned outside his home. Puzzled as to why the GCNF should "invite" SIS into Cyprus, Neil despatches Willie to investigate, and to work with the new Cyprus No.2. Willie is infuriated to discover that the new Cyprus No.2-his partner on this job-is to be Jill Ferris, a woman just out of field school-the last thing he needs is to play nursemaid, especially since his arrival is being deliberately leaked to force the pace. These guys are playing it rough-for the first time in over a year, Neil orders Willie to draw arms from the Station.

While on a recce in the Troodos Mountains, Jill and Willie are ambushed. Much to Willie's surprise, Jill makes the right move at every turn. They kill all but one of the gunmen, and can get nothing out of the survivor except that his name is Angelos and he works for "Apollo". That night, Willie tells Neil that Jill is no rookie, but a highly experienced field agent. They realize that she is actually a KGB special officer, and that the KGB intercepted the real Jill Ferris, also having shot Norrich to get the SIS to participate in the op. Since the KGB and SIS have the same goal-thwart the GCNF and recover their scientists-Neil and Willie decide to take advantage of the skilled backup. And it's all they're likely to get.

While Jill flirts with Willie to get under his guard, at home Burnside drops his reserve long enough to ask Laura to dinner. They warm to each other rapidly, but Laura's "hang-up" will take some time to get over.

When Willie and Jill deduce the GCNF camp's location-a supposed "insane asylum" in the Troodos Mountains, neither the British nor American governments will approve sending in armed raiders, and "C" tells Neil it's up to him to come up with "a feasible solution". Under cover of darkness, Willie and Jill successfully raid the compound and extract the scientists, but Willie is wounded. Once clear of the compound, Jill reveals that she's taking Ygorov, and that he had sold himself to "Apollo" willingly. Willie tells her that he knew she was KGB almost from the beginning. As Willie and Colby drive away, they hear the staccato rattle of machine-gun fire that signifies Ygorov's execution.

Back at headquarters, Neil criticizes Willie for not having thought to kill Ygorov himself during a brief moment when "Jill" wasn't present. Had he done this, Burnside points out, she would have had no reason to return to Moscow and would have kept her cover, enabling SIS to use her for disinformation by controlling the secret material she would see as station No.2. Willie admits that in the middle of a gunfight it did not occur to him, and anyway he thought he owed "Jill" more than that. Burnside angrily reminds Willie, "She's KGB, you're SIS...don't ever forget it again".

Sarah Bullen as Jill Ferris
Kenneth Watson as Hugh Douglas
Richard Cornish as Philip Jeremiah
Donald Churchill as Professor Colby
Peter Cassell as Angelos

7. "Special Relationship"
Written by Ian Mackintosh Produced by Michael Ferguson Directed by David Reynolds First Broadcast Date (UK): October 30, 1978The SIS has had contact from an agent, Mittag, in East Berlin who works in a photo developing lab. Mittag has been selling SIS the cream of the top-secret photos he's been developing, but thinks he may be under suspicion, and wants to make one last well-paid delivery - aerial photos of an important missile complex. Two problems: 1) he will not deliver the photos this time, SIS has to come and get them; and 2) since Mittag won't have microdot equipment in his flat, they are 8 x 10 prints. Burnside doesn't like it, but agrees to send the Bonn No.2, Bob Clements, into East Berlin to make the pickup since he can pass as a Berliner. Meanwhile, Willie and Laura are briefed on the important Hungarian underground movement and their leader, Janos Ilcu. If Ilcu is blown, which appears likely, he may have to be "lifted" in a hurry.

Belinda Wellingham, Neil's ex-wife, has been trying to make contact with Neil-something he's especially trying to avoid since he and Laura-against all the rules-have fallen in love! Sir Geoffrey is doing his part by trying to convince Neil to at least see her for a drink, but he refuses, saying, "I'd help if I could, but the price is too high".

Suddenly, there's a problem on "Operation Starlight"-the Mittag operation. Bob Clements has had his leg broken in a car accident en route to the airport. What to do? Neil decides to ask the CIA for help, saying no one else is qualified. Then he goes to his office and stares at Laura's file. Willie comes in and says he'll risk it, even though he knows no German and could easily be caught. Both Neil and Willie know that Laura is in fact "Berlin-orientated", and should have been tapped for Starlight even before Clements. Neil's sense of duty wins out, and he has Laura briefed and sent to East Berlin. Jeff Ross has a CIA man sent to Berlin as backup for Laura.

Then comes the message: ABORT STARLIGHT! Mittag has been stopped and searched, confirming that he's under suspicion. But since Laura is to have no contact with the local Stations, her "run" cannot be aborted and she will almost certainly be caught. Burnside and Peele advise "C" that SIS must prepare to offer a swap of anybody the Allies might be holding to get Laura back, since when she is inevitably broken the entire Hungarian network - the fruit of twenty years' hard and dangerous work - will be blown.

Laura is taken when she leaves Mittag's flat, and the only possible swap is a KGB illegal named Deryabin caught by the French . Neil goes to Paris to negotiate with their intelligence chief, Baumel, for the release of Deryabin. Baumel demands a high price-the entire intelligence fruits of the SIS/CIA "Special Relationship" for one year, and demands a document bearing both the signatures and thumbprints of "C" and Wellingham so he can inform the CIA if Neil does not deliver. Knowing full well that this could destroy the Special Relationship, Neil agrees anyway, having no option.

The document is drawn up and signed, but Neil secretly delivers a copy to Jeff Ross on a walk in Regents' Park. The next night in a Berlin hotel, Willie, who knows of the existence of the document, is alarmed at the presence of both Jeff Ross and Baumel in Berlin. Not knowing that Jeff is "in the loop", he's concerned that the deal could be blown, but Neil brusquely tells him not to mind about that. Burnside delivers the signed agreement to Baumel.

The East German and British parties face off at Checkpoint Charlie and start walking towards each other to make the exchange. Suddenly, Neil mutters to Jeff Ross to prepare to get Deryabin back to the West. Laura smiles broadly at Neil as the two parties draw closer. Moments later a shot rings out from the East, and Laura falls dead in the street. Everybody scrambles back whence they came except Neil, who stares at Laura's corpse. Tears well up in his eyes as he slowly begins walking back to the West.

Back in the hotel, Neil tells Baumel to "stuff your agreement, General, it's null and void!" When Baumel threatens to tell the CIA, Neil says he has already done so. When Baumel leaves, Willie explodes at Burnside: "You BASTARD! Why?" Burnside explains to Willie that he had no choice. They could not afford to let Laura stay and spill the details of the Hungarian network, but neither could they sacrifice the Special Relationship by making the swap, so Laura was shot by the CIA backup man Ross had sent to Berlin. Setting up the exchange was the only way to get Laura into the open-a secret Neil is entrusting to Willie. Willie tells Neil, "I don't trust you. I'm the last one left. And you're NOT going to kill ME!!! Do you want my resignation now or in the morning?" Neil answers prophetically, "You won't leave, Willie. Nor will I. As much as I want to."

A few days later, Neil politely declines a lunch invitation from Willie and goes walking near the Thames. Tears again well up in his eyes as he thinks of the woman he loved, and whom he was ultimately forced to sacrifice on the altar of national security.

It's one of the most powerful television moments you're ever likely to see, and its aftermath haunts Burnside for the entire duration of the series. His internalization of his guilt over Laura arguably starts him down a path of career self-destruction, bucking authority at nearly every turn, especially when it comes to protecting the Special Section officers or his own passionate anti-Communist agenda.

Alan Downer as Baumel
Cyril Varley as Paul
Brian Ashley as Mittag

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