Hopscotch

During Munich's Oktoberfest, Kendig and his veteran CIA team derail a microfilm transfer. The operation showcases Kendig's skill, but it also foreshadows his superiors' later anger that he did not arrest Yaskov. The incident establishes the high-stakes cat-and-mouse tone of the story.

Back in Washington, Kendig is reassigned to a desk job by his boss Myerson because he didn't arrest Yaskov. Kendig explains that Yaskov would know how to think and that identifying a replacement would take time and resources. Myerson's decision also places Joe Cutter as Kendig's successor.

Kendig shreds his personnel file and flies to Salzburg to visit his former lover Isobel von Schönenberg, whom he has not seen in a while. Yaskov guesses Kendig's move, meets him, and invites him to defect to the KGB; Kendig refuses. Yaskov also quips about whether Kendig will retire and write a memoir.

Kendig decides to write a memoir exposing the CIA's dirty tricks and incompetence. Isobel is horrified but helps by mailing copies of Kendig's first chapter to spy chiefs in the U.S., Soviet Union, China, France, Italy and Great Britain. The act sets in motion a dangerous game of cat and mouse.

Myerson assigns Cutter to stop Kendig, while Yaskov also pursues his old adversary. Kendig begins baiting his pursuers by sending explosive chapters and by periodically informing them of his location. The cat-and-mouse pursuit intensifies as Kendig travels through Europe.

Leaving Europe, Kendig returns to the United States and cheerfully rents Myerson's unoccupied Georgia family home. He continues writing more chapters and plotting his next moves. The new location gives him a stable base from which to publish further taunting chapters.

Kendig leaks his address, triggering a barrage by the FBI on Myerson's home with bullets and tear gas. Myerson is furious at the disruption and the public exposure of CIA dirty tricks. Kendig's actions heighten the publicity and threaten the CIA's internal control.

Kendig travels to Bermuda by chartered seaplane, marking the first leg of his international move to publish the memoir. The journey signals a shift from American base to European theater and further plans to reach London.

Kendig arrives in London to present the final chapter to his publisher. The meeting sets the stage for the climactic confrontation with Myerson and Yaskov as copies of the chapters circulate to the pursuers. The publisher's support contrasts with the CIA's intimidation tactics.

In London, Kendig's publisher rebuffs Myerson's threats and tells them where Kendig's hotel room is located. Myerson realizes Kendig's location and moves to intercept. The revelation intensifies the pursuit and raises the stakes for the final act.

Kendig ambushes Cutter in his London hotel room, ties him up, and declares he'll fly across the English Channel from a small airfield near Beachy Head. Isobel crosses the Channel the next morning by hovercraft to rendezvous with Kendig. The two plot the final steps of their escape.

As pursuers converge on the airfield, Kendig suffers a flat tire and is briefly taken to a local police station. A policeman recognizes him from a posted bulletin, and Kendig escapes by short-circuiting an electrical socket and stealing a police car.

Kendig's Stampe biplane is pursued by Myerson's helicopter. The plane appears to be shot down over the Channel, but Kendig has been operating it from the ground by remote control; his enemies assume he is dead. The ruse preserves Kendig's life for the next phase of his plan.

Kendig disposes of the remote-control device by hiding it in a barrel of spent oil and slips away with Isobel to spend a few weeks in the south of France. The quiet interlude allows Kendig to bask in the memoir's growing mystique. Isobel remains wary of his disguises and stunts.

Months later, Kendig's explosive memoir Hopscotch becomes an international bestseller. In a final bit of meta-theatrical mischief, he buys a copy of the book himself while disguised as a Sikh and speaking with a British accent; Isobel's patience with his antics wears thin.