Arthur Bishop, the master assassin who faked his death in hopes of putting that part of his ;life behind him, now lives a quiet life in Rio. But someone who knows who he is shows up and tells him, that if he wants to continue living this life, he will do three jobs for someone. Bishop tries to tell them he has the wrong man but they know who he is and if he won't do the job, they will take him but he gets away. He then goes to a resort in Thailand run by a friend, Mae, where he tries to find out...

Shortly after the Second World War, Max, a transplanted American, visits an English pawn shop to sell his trumpet. The shopkeeper recognizes the tune Max plays as one on a wax master of an unreleased recording, discovered and restored from shards found in a piano salvaged from a cruise ship turned hospital ship, now slated for demolition. This chance discovery prompts a story from Max, which he relates both to the shopkeeper and later to the official responsible for the doomed vessel, for Max is...