[2] Colonel Kassar (Piccoli), an African dictator supported by the CIA, makes a pact with the French secret service to target Sadiel (Volonte), a politician from his home country who is currently in exile in Geneva.

Government agents blackmail Darien into working with them, though he believes his role is merely to facilitate Sadiel's travel from Geneva to Paris, where the leader will film a television program.

However, he is abducted by corrupt policemen before he can meet with Darien and Michael Howard (Scheider), an American TV correspondent working on the program.

Reluctantly, Police Commissioner Rouannat (Perier) orders a search of the mobster's house, but does not find anything out of the ordinary except a strange knife (which Kassar had threatened Sadiel with).

Howard shows up but kills Darien, revealing himself as a CIA asset, and makes his escape before French police arrive.