Steed impersonates Riordan, a forger soon to be released from prison, and gains the trust of gang-leader Hooper. Things seem to be going well until Hooper's second-in-command, known as the Cardinal, announces that Riordan's girlfriend is outside waiting to see him.

Various millionaires are withdrawing large sums of money from the bank. Steed suspects blackmail but none of the men is willing to talk. Then he gets a call from Gilbert Jarvis, who tells Steed that he, Jarvis, has 'just been murdered'. Again.