Old Time Radio Espionage

Inspired by the real-life rescue of Hitler's ally Benito Mussolini by Otto Skorzeny, a similar idea is considered by Hitler, with the support of Reichsfuhrer Himmler. Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of the Abwehr (German military intelligence), is ordered to make a feasibility study of the seemingly impossible task of capturing Prime Minister Winston Churchill and returning him to the Reich. Canaris orders one of his officers, Oberst Radl to undertake the study, despite feeling that it is a waste of time.

An Unteroffizier on Radl's staff finds that one of their spies, code named Starling, has provided tantalizing intelligence. Winston Churchill is to visit an airfield near the village of Studley Constable, where Joanna Grey, a South African and German spy, lives. Radl comes up with a scheme that could work. Himmler meets secretly with Radl and unofficially tells him to proceed, without notifying Canaris. An agent, a member of the IRA named Liam Devlin, is dispatched to contact Mrs. Grey.