Directed by Fred Schepisi, this adaptation of John le Carré's best-selling thriller follows the pursuit of a scientific manuscript that could harm the glasnost Russians while possibly helping the American and British secret services. Stickily involved in the plot are a British publisher (Sean Connery), a level-headed Russian beauty (Michelle Pfeiffer), and the manuscript's cagey author (Klaus Maria Brandauer) who find themselves sucked into the deadly world of espionage.