October, 1943. The carrier “Cuba” is taking 1061 German POWs to Barcelona, to be exchanged for British and Anzac prisoners. The repatriation will be supervised by the Spanish Red Cross and conducted on the neutral soil of Spain. It is a rare moment of optimism in a dark time, and a potential political and diplomatic minefield.
N’s network have received late intelligence indicating that one of more of the POWs or their guards is infected with an unknown and extremely dangerous parasite of alien origin. Little is known about the entity or its abilities, but N is determined that specimens should be taken alive for study. The mission is to identify the infected party or parties, remove the parasites and return them safely to Britain, all without causing panic, interfering with the repatriation or causing a diplomatic incident.