Arresting Allan at the eastern border of Iran, officials lock him up in a Tehran police station, where the police chief, also called the “vice prime minister” and the “boss of murderers” (158), will examine Allan when he returns from England. Incarcerated with Allan is Father Kevin Ferguson, an Anglican priest who has spent the last 12 years unsuccessfully trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. As Allan listens to the priest recount his plots to convert the Iranian people, “Allan admitted that the difference between madness and genius was subtle, and that he couldn't with certainly say which it was in this case, but that he had his suspicions” (158). Kevin’s increasingly ludicrous evangelical schemes lead the Iranian government to decide he must be a communist spy. He expects that the murder boss will have him executed.

When the police chief tries Allan, he convinces the chief that he can assist him with an assassination the chief is planning. Angry at the British, the chief wants to kill Winston Churchill, who will visit Tehran in a few days. Since the chief has the only bulletproof car in Iran, he plans to blow it up with Churchill inside. Allan sketches out a plan to destroy the car, tells the chief what he needs, and says he needs Kevin to serve as his interpreter.