The Diamond brothers find their mysterious client, McGuffin, dead in a phone box. Leading them on a dangerous path involving the police, spies and being kidnapped by a taxi driver.
They are taken to a MI6 facility. They anger the agents who knock them out and drive them to their flat. They return with police, finding the building as a bird shop. Later, Tim's job interview at the bank is cut short by a bomb explosion.
Tim Diamond is a wanted man. So he and his brother take refuge in Hanover Hotel. Boris Kusenov arrives in London. The last clue left by McGuffin leads to Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Charlotte van Dam helps the Diamond brothers travel to the Netherlands. They find the Amstel IJsbaan ice skating rink where they are supposed to meet McGuffin's contact, Eight-Six.
Tim and Nick find Charon's residence, the Winter House, and overhear part of the plan to kill Kusenov. On the run from Charon's men, Nick ends up in Mr. Marvano's magic cabinet.
Back in the UK, Detectives Snape and Boyle are protecting Boris Kusenov at Sotheby's, where The Tsar's Feast painting is being auctioned. Nick figures out what McGuffin's last words really meant.
