An American professor working at Oxford University is hired by a mysterious Arabic businessman to decipher some ancient hieroglyphics. When he learns they contain a message linked to a planned political assassination, he is drawn into a series of escapades with his employer's henchmen in hot pursuit. Spy thriller, starring Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, Alan Badel and Kieron Moore.

When a plot against a prominent Middle Eastern politician is uncovered, David Pollock, a professor of ancient hieroglyphics at Oxford University, is recruited to help expose the scheme. Pollock must find information believed to be in hieroglyphic code and must also contend with a mysterious man called Beshraavi. Meanwhile, Beshraavi's lover, Yasmin Azir, seems willing to aid Pollock -- but is she really on his side?