When long-time British agent Harry Palmer loses his job because the Cold War is over, he's promptly approached by a Russian bossman, Alex. In St. Petersburg Alex tells Harry of his plan for Russia's future, which is threatened because a deadly biochemical weapon called the Red Death has been stolen from him. He'll pay Harry handsomely to retrieve it. An ex-spy friend tips Harry off that it's being sent to Beijing by train, aboard which we begin to learn whose side everyone's really on.
| Directing | George Mihalka | Director |
| Production | Harry Alan Towers | Producer |
| Production | Alexandr Golutva | Executive Producer |
| Production | John Dunning | Producer |
| Production | André Link | Producer |
| Camera | Peter Benison | Director of Photography |
| Camera | Terry Cole | Director of Photography |
| Sound | Rick Wakeman | Music |
| Art | Yury Pashigorev | Production Design |
| Art | Chris Tulloch | Production Design |
| Costume & Make-Up | Galina Nikolaeva | Costume Design |
| Art | Zoya Nikashina | Set Designer |
| Art | Igor Sytin | Set Designer |
| Editing | François Gill | Editor |
| Writing | Len Deighton | Characters |