- A young man enters his apartment and is immediately put into a sleeper hold by a huge assailant waiting inside, in the dark. The assailant hoists the victim into a hanging noose, and kicks a stool out from under him. The death is ruled a suicide. The giant is an assistant to Ahben Vanesku, a cult leader who hires Peter Gunn to find a female cult member who supposedly embezzled $ 200,000 from the cult. Gunn tracks the beautiful woman to Spain.—David Stevens
- Prologue: Man comes home to his apartment where inside another hulk of a man subdues the lessee, puts his head in a noose, letting him hang from the ceiling, dead. Pete is awakened in bed by the same hulk demanding he go to meet the boss. The boss is a temple leader requesting Gunn's services in locating his ex-employee who has walked off with $200,000 of the temple's money. The hulk is Clarence, the boss is Ahben Unesku, ex-employee is Joanna Lund, the hanged man was named David Bryce. Jacobi was at the temple while Pete was there checking on the dead ex-member, David Bryce. Jacobi got nowhere with Unesku. Pete gets a lead from a bribe to a passport shop owner sending him following the lead to Paris France, then to Spain, and he knows he is being followed. He spots the man following him in the seats at a bull fight. Leads ultimately take him to a border town where he believes Joanna is; two days waiting, watching, she appears at his location. He approaches her for a drink, turned down, then he spots her out walking along with his shadow follower. She picks him up, he takes her up on her offer, buys her a drink with small talk ensuing. He hangs with her for a week, getting to know her. She finally asks him to come clean she says she never took any money from Unesku, she did know David, planned on meeting him abroad, learns he hung himself, which she does not believe. She says goodnight to Pete and exits. Later, Pete goes to her room, finds her hanging from the ceiling, dead, and he knows by moving a chair under her feet, it was not an accident nor suicide. Pete returns to the temple confronting Unesku, saying Clarence made an error since Joanna's feet were twelve inches above the chair. Clarence enters, takes Pete's gun forcibly, then takes Pete, a fight begins and ends with Pete being choked by Clarence, but Pete is winning out by bring the hulk down only to have Unesku aim Pete's gun at him but being shot by Sergeant Keep, sent by Jacobi. Keep was sent by Jacobi to make certain Unesku was caught. Keep is from Central Division, Traffic, as Pete would probably spot someone from Jacobi's precinct. Pete is told by Keep to thank Jacobi. Unesku wanted Joanna where David Price was killed because he wanted Joanna, too. Unesku said Bryce was the real thief, Joanna took the money, Bryce took Joanna. Unesku followed Pete, when he found Joanna, Unesku sent for Clarence to kill Joanna. Unesku took the next plane home he said once Joanna was found and Clarence was on the way to kill her.
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