A quartet of international crooks (Peterson, O'Hara, Ross and Ravello) are stranded in Italy whilst their steamer is being repaired. With them are the an English couple, the Dannreuthers. The 6 are headed for Africa, presumably to sell vacuum cleaners but all is not as it seems. They are joined by others who apparently have similar designs.

James Bond continues on his fourth mission, with his aim to recover 2 stolen warheads. They've been taken by the SPECTRE organisation, and the world's held hostage as Bond heads to Nassau, Bahamas. Here, he meets Domino and is forced into a thrilling confrontation with SPECTRE agent Emil Largo on-board his boat, the Disco Volante.