Ted Mundy, former student radical and Cold War spy for the British, is living a quiet life as co-principal of an English-language school and tour guide in Germany when he is contacted by an old friend and colleague who tries to persuade Ted to accept a too-good-to-be-true offer from a mysterious philanthropist who is putting up $500,000 to turn the school into a vehicle for promoting international peace and understanding in the post-9/11 world.