A dinghy drifts through the fog and a couple, Frederick St. John and his wife Ursula Heft, look out to sea. Ursula complains that she'd rather swim then stay aboard the freighter, and Frederick tells her to keep her voice down. They spot the Fortuna up ahead.
Aboard the Fortuna, Dr. Benjamin Furst and his wife Jean take refuge in cabin 5 and Benjamin signals to sea using a flashlight. Richard sees the signal and tells the sailors to row. He admits that it'll be strange getting back to the U.S., and doesn't care who Lucky is as long as his ship serves his purpose.
In the restaurant, Lucky tells a party that it's almost 10:30. One of the guests, Patricia, asks him to tell them about the charm on his watch fob.
Frederick and Ursula pull up to the Fortuna and the Fursts help them aboard. The two couples look similar, and Benjamin says that their clothes are in cabin 5. He tells them the names that they'll be using, and the Furst take the dinghy back to the freighter.
One of the guests, Mrs. Dubois, compliments Lucky on his menu. Andamo calls Lucky over and tells him that two people disappeared from a table and weren't on the launches back. Lucky suggests that they look for them.
In cabin 5, Frederick and Ursula change into their new clothes. Frederick tells Ursula that his work important and he wants nothing to go wrong, and boasts about how he fooled the immigration agents who will check the freighter for him. All they have to do is go ashore with the restaurant patrons. They hear Lucky outside in the hallway and Frederick has Ursula lay down on the bed.
Andamo arrives and confirms that it's his cabin, and Lucky tells the people inside to come out. Frederick opens the door and tells them to keep their voices down. He claims that he's Furst and says that Ursula is sick so she had to lie down. Lucky tells Andamo to call their doctor because of their insurance company. When Frederick refuses, Lucky insists that he sign a waiver of liability. Frederick agrees and closes the door on them.
Later, Frederick and Ursula come out on deck and Lucky notices that Ursula's face and figure doesn't match her clothes. Andamo comes over to have Frederick sign the release and asks them to put their address down. He invites Ursula to come back under more pleasant circumstances, but she declines. Frederick signs the waiver and they head over to the launch. Lucky sees them off, and he and Andamo watch them go.
The next morning, Lucky tries to trace Frederick and Ursula. He calls in Andamo and says that there Frederick gave a phony address. He calls the launch captain, Pudge, who finds the hack driver. The driver confirms that Frederick went to an address in the city. Lucky and Andamo go ashore and drive to the address: a costume rental shop. The clerk, Dewar, claims not to them and says that no one has been there since the day before. As Lucky and Andamo leave, Lucky figures that Dewar was hiding something and says that he wants to check out Andamo's cabin. Frederick and Ursula watch them go from an upstairs window, and Frederick says that they won't be in the city the next day and there's nothing to worry about. Ursula shows him the new pamphlet and Frederick warns that the Americans don't want to be pushed so they have to learn patience. The pamphlet has the Nazi symbol on it.
Back on the Fortuna, Lucky searches Andamo's cabin but finds nothing. Andamo escorts Agent Barber and his partner in, and Barber asks Lucky to come with them. Barber shows his badge and Lucky accepts his "invitation" and invites Andamo to come along with them. At the immigration office, Barber shows them slides of various buildings with Nazi graffiti on it from across the world. He explains that a freighter left from Caracas, but when it docked there were two people who looked like them. Barber points out that the freighter lay off the shore five miles from the coast, and they figure a switch took place and they used the Fortuna. He brings up photos of Frederick and Ursula, and explains that they've traveled around the world spreading fascist propaganda. Barber wants to find out who is financing them and figures that Lucky can help them. The government wants a lead to their backers, and Lucky is just to look around because he's going in alone. Barber has an address where they can find the couple: the address of the costume rental office.
That night, Lucky and Andamo go to the rental office and Lucky goes in alone. He tells Andamo to call Barber in a half hour if he doesn't come out, and Andamo insists on giving him a gun. Dewar says that "Furst" isn't there, and Lucky threatens to call a lawyer and bring a warrant if Dewar doesn't bring him Frederick. Once Dewar leaves, Lucky goes into the storage area and looks around. Dewar comes back and says that "Furst" isn't there. Lucky has found some rifles, and points out that for props they're well-oiled.
When Lucky mentions Ursula's name, Dewar calls over his partner George. Lucky makes a break for it and ducks into a prop room. George comes in, gun drawn, and Lucky hides. Lucky hits him George with a bottle but it's a breakaway prop and breaks without stunning the man. George knocks out Lucky and leaves.
A few minutes later, Lucky wakes up handcuffed to a pole and Dewar shoots him... with blanks. Frederick and Ursula come in and ask Lucky what he knows. Mrs. Dubois steps out of the shadows and admits that she's the couple's financier. She explains that she believes in the fascist cause. Dubois tells the couple to leave for their plane, and doesn't want to hear how Frederick is going to dispose of Lucky. She leaves with the couple, and Lucky sees Andamo slip in. Andamo frees Lucky and explains that he heard the shots. He admits that he didn't call Barber because he was in a hurry to rescue Lucky, and can't pick the lock.
George and the couple return, and Andamo creates a noise to distract George. He knocks the man out and jumps Frederick, and Ursula grabs George's gun. Andamo grabs Frederick and threatens to kill him if Ursula doesn't drop the gun. He stabs Frederick... with a prop knife. Ursula runs to her husband, and George attacks Andamo. Andamo knocks him back to Lucky, who throttles him unconscious with his handcuffs. Barber and his agents arrive, and Barber says that they got Dubois. He says that he'll see Lucky again and leaves, and Lucky figures that Barber will be back to release him.
Written by Gadfly on Sep 2, 2018