In Nice, James Bond and his friend Rene Mathis fail to persuade Commandant Malherbe to call off the police raid. James and Rene feel the movie studio has too many civilians in the area while Malherbe feels they might not have a better opportunity to stop the Union from peddling their terrorist activities to the highest bidder.
Nothing goes right as the raid turns into a trap leaving many dead, including several civilians.
Over the next few weeks, Bond fails to find any clues on the Union. Meanwhile Mathis vanishes, but is actually in Corsica tracking a blind man who he believes is Le Gerant, the head of the Union. Finally, Bond obtains a lead from a murdered prisoner known as a Union man. The deceased has a tattoo on his eye. That takes Bond to Paris where he meets Essinger's estranged wife actress Tylyn Mignonne.