A half-starved young Russian man in a long black overcoat is smuggled into Hamburg in the dead of night. He has an improbable amount of cash hidden in a purse around his neck. He is a devout Muslim. Or is he? He says his name is Issa. Annabel, an idealistic young German civil rights lawyer is determined to save Issa from deportation. Soon her client's survival becomes more important to her than her own career - or safety.

A half-starved young Russian man claiming to be a devout Muslim, an idealistic young German civil rights lawyer, and a sixty-year-old scion of a failing British bank based in Hamburg form an unlikely alliance as the rival spies of Germany, England and America scent a sure kill in the "War on Terror," and converge upon the innocents.