Spectrum Intelligence impart Captain Scarlet with a ""special assignment"" which is to consciously loose inadequately at a casino, and to place himself on their debt owners list for 5,000 credits. When this is reported to Spectrum Headquarters, Colonel White fires Scarlet on the spot, for improper use of the organisations' code of conduct, and his occupation taken away from him. Living in a inexpensive, shabby hotel room temporarily, a pair of Mysteron agents, posing as sought after gangsters, formulate a deal with the now Paul Metcalfe, with his I. O. U. for 5,000 credits, in return for a Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle, which will be utilized to brake into the Nevada Nuclear City Complex, with an atomic incendiary device, which will obliterate the whole of North America.