- 1: The Consuming Passion of Arnold Hodgkiss: In a rooftop restaurant, jewel thief Arnold Hodgkiss obsesses over a picture in his guidebook. He eagerly awaits coming face to face with his “secret desire”.
- 2: The Shrine at Last — and a Strange Encounter: Hodgkiss visits the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London and makes plans to steal it someday in the future. However, in a case of mistaken identity (he is half Chinese) a mysterious character gives him a package to be delivered to the Chinese Communists.
- 3: A Seedy Sort of Chap: Jerry (Jeremiah) Cornell, a reluctant and generally delinquent secret agent, reports to Ronald Fry, his British Intelligence superior. He learns that a traitor named Maxwell has delivered secret laser plans to the Chinese Communists by way of a courier at the London Tower. Jerry’s assignment is to track down the mysterious Kung Fu Tzu (Confucius).
- 4: A Couple of Kinds of Plan: Hodgkiss opens the package he has mistakenly received and discovers that it contains secret materials. He decides to hold on to it as insurance.
- 5: The Master Agent: When Kung Fu Tzu realizes that the secret laser plans have been delivered to the wrong man, he decides to look for him at the Nylon Trade Mission (a tourist spot). When Jerry spies Kung Fu Tzu entering the building he waits outside and kills time by indulging in some gambling and flirting.
- 6: The Road to Shanghai Sam’s: Hodgkiss picks up a local girl named Mavis Ming and they head towards Shanghai Sam’s for a bite to eat. Jerry and Kung Fu Tzu each follow Hodgkiss in separate taxis. At Shanghai Sam’s, Jerry spies Fry’s secretary (Shirley Withers) and takes a seat at her table in order to deflect suspicion from himself.
- 7: A Queer Introduction: Hodgkiss mistakes Kung Fu Tzu’s overtures as a sexual advance and punches him. After Kung Fu Tzu leaves, Jerry introduces himself to Hodgkiss.
- 8: The Fall of Shirley Withers: The next morning, Shirley leaves for work while Jerry remains in her apartment (and searches her belongings). After arguing with Kung Fu Tzu on the phone, Hodgkiss heads out to seek out a policeman to turn in the secret plans. Kung Fu Tzu then pays a visit to his hotel room, only to find Mavis Ming there.
- 9: A Sinister Development: Kung Fu Tzu decides to try and kidnap Mavis to make her a hostage for the plans. At HQ, Jerry has Fry assign Shirley to him as his aide.
- 10: The Beast with Something to Sell: On a whim, Hodgkiss tries to steal a jeweled brooch from a market stall on Portobello Road. When pursued by the locals he tries to escape, but is eventually knocked unconscious by a junk-dealer’s horse in the street.
- 11: A Plot Uncovered: Jerry and Inspector Crapper foil Kung Fu Tzu’s plan to kidnap Mavis (although Kung Fu Tzu escapes). Crapper tells Jerry that Hodgkiss is in the hospital, unconscious after his Portobello Road mishap. Jerry decides to make inquiries in that area, hoping to turn up clues which might lead to the secret plans.
- 12: A Legend — A Dream: Kung Fu Tzu orders his henchman Choong to recruit the aging femme fatale Lilli von Bern to seduce Jerry. He then follows Jerry’s car as it leaves for Portobello.
- 13: The Homecoming of Jeremiah Cornell: Jerry goes to the Portobello (Notting Hill) area, his hometown. He reluctantly greets his old friends. Kung Fu Tzu follows, and mistakes Jerry’s many relations as some kind of spy network, with Jerry its leader.
- 14: A Professional Family: Jerry visits his repulsive family home which is rotting in squalor. His gay half-brother Frankie eventually arrives and mentions Hodgkiss and the accident.
- 15: The Sleeping Totter: Jerry tracks down the junk collector (“totter”) who had run Hodgkiss down in the street, but is unable to wake him from his drunken stupor.
- 16: “What about Mavis?”: Jerry reunites with Shirley and Mavis and they decide to stay over at Jerry’s house for the night.
- 17: The Trail of the Suit: The next day, Jerry returns to the junk dealer and eventually learns that Hodgkiss’ suit may be found in the possession of Jerry’s Uncle Edmond.
- 18: Uncle Edmond: Jerry braves the horrid dwelling of his Uncle in order to bargain for the jacket (and the plans it holds), but Edmond stubbornly holds out for more money.
- 19: A Fresh Assault: At Jerry’s house Kung Fu Tzu kidnaps Shirley and Mavis, and installs the femme fatale Lilli von Bern in their stead.
- 20: The Fall of Jerry Cornell: When Jerry arrives, Lilli uses her wiles on him and gains total control over him.
- 21: A Dawning Realization: Lilli tries to get the location of the secret plans out of Jerry, but their passionate activities unexpectedly cause her to die from heart failure. Jerry meets Fry at National Trust in order to get more money to pay off his Uncle Edmond for the secret plans.
- 22: Descent to the Interior: At Jerry’s house, Kung Fu Tzu’s underling Choong is stunned to find Lilli’s corpse. On the way back to Uncle Edmond’s, Jerry is pulled over and arrested by traffic police for having an expired tax certificate on his car. Kung Fu Tzu and Choong pay a visit to Jerry’s Uncle Edmond, although they suspect a trap set by the master agent.
- 23: The Pile: When the Chinese agents threaten Edmond with their guns, he leads them to the revolting (and seemingly sentient) pile of junk in his backyard and shoves them into it. He then escapes with the laser plans in his pants.
- 24: The Confrontation: Jerry finally returns to Edmond’s hovel and encounters the Chinese agents as they escape the house in tatters. Kung Fu Tzu believes that Jerry has engineered the entire affair as a diabolical trap and flees. Jerry himself faints in fear.
- 25: The Conflagration: Shirley and Mavis break free of their bonds and escape the Chinese Fabric Trade Mission, in the process setting off Kung Fu Tzu’s secret cache of explosives. Believing Jerry to be behind the destruction of his base, Kung vows vengeance. Edmond hides the laser plans in the feedbag of a junk dealer’s horse. Lilli Von Bern wakes up in Jerry’s bed and decides to reform herself. Jerry returns to his house to see Lilli gone, and in their place Shirley and Mavis.
- 26: Running Again: Hodgkiss wakes in the hospital and realizes that the police have surrounded his room. He sneaks out a window to freedom.
- 27: The Plans at Last!: Jerry tries to retrieve the plans from the horse feedbag but the plans have been consumed by the horse. Kung Fu Tzu calls and offers to meet Jerry at the Tower of London to exchange some money. In reality he plans to set off a suicide bomb which will make him a national hero for killing Jerry and destroying the Crown Jewels.
- 28: The Curtain Falls: Jerry makes his rendezvous with Kung and Choong at the Tower of London. Choong arms a time-bomb in Kung’s coat and waits for the explosion. While eluding Inspector Crapper, Hodgkiss makes his way to the Tower of London hoping to hide in the crowd. Upon coming across Kung and Jerry, he impulsively grabs Kung’s coat to cover himself and then leaps out the window into the river. After he swims to safety, the bomb explodes harmlessly in the Thames. Kung and Choong surrender, and Jerry is congratulated by Shirley and Arnold Fry for a job well done. Jerry unhappily realizes that he is expected to marry Shirley now. Hodgkiss escapes London in a Beefeater disguise.
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| Granada 1979, Art: Peter Tybus |
Printer’s Devil (Compact, 1966, as Bill Barclay)/The Russian Intelligence (1980, Savoy)
- 1: Jerry arrives at a secret site to meet with a fellow agent, Thorpe. Thorpe dies in his arms, and points to a comic book named Whoomf! as a clue. Jerry is annoyed in that he has now become drawn into some kind of mystery.
- 2: Jerry returns home to be comforted by his wife Shirley. Shirley spends most of her time trying to waylay Jerry’s chronic infidelities.
- 3: At Chief Fry’s office, Jerry is horrified to learn that he has been assigned the Thorpe case and that devil worshippers may be involved. He also leans that government secrets are been being smuggled out to the Russians.
- 4: Jerry goes to Barry Wharton, the publisher of Whoomf! (Wayflete Publications), and pretends to be a comic writer named “Billy Bunter” looking for a job.
- 5: At the pub, Jerry tries to hit on Judy Judd, one of Wharton’s attractive writers, but Fry contacts him and orders him to instead investigate a Russian diplomat named Fydor Dyescheoffski who subscribes to Whoomf!
- 6: Jerry bumbles his way into Dyescheoffski’s backyard while at the same time trying to avoid the eyes of Shirley (who has been told that he is out of town). Jerry finds out that the diplomat’s son reads Whoomf! Two Russians agents, Joseph K and Zhivako, are stunned to see the British “superagent” on their grounds.
- 7: Zhivako is assigned to follow Jerry. Jerry believes that he is being spied upon by one of Shirley’s detectives and reluctantly accepts a lift from his disgusting Uncle Edmond to quickly depart the area.
- 8: Jerry and Judy go to the Secretary Bird pop club where they are let in by a man named Drummond. On the dancefloor Judy mocks Jerry’s old-fashioned dancing.
- 9: By sheer coincidence, Zhivako arrives at the same club to indulge in his secret vice: Western “fab” fashion and pop music. He panics when he sees Jerry, quickly changes and calls his superior Joseph K. Shirley sees Judy at the club and scares her off. Joseph K and Zhivako observe Jerry as he is seduced by a blonde woman named Polly Snapgirdle.
- 10: Fry makes contact with Jerry (at Polly’s house) and orders him to report to Wayflete.
- 11: Jerry learns that Judy has been killed in a bomb explosion triggered by her booby-trapped typewriter.
- 12: A man named Fairbright runs up to Jerry and tries to offer information about Judy’s murder. Not wanting to become involved, he dodges Fairbright. Later Jerry learns that Fairbright has been brutally killed.
- 13: After phoning Fry and Shirley with alibis, Jerry decides to hide out at Polly’s house. Joseph K and Zhivako follow.
- 14: During a rest stop, Jerry spies Zhivako and believes him to be one of Shirley’s detectives. He tells the terrified Russian to go home. Jerry then arrives at Polly’s place where he meets John Brook-Hopkins, a poet whom Polly is helping as his agent.
- 15: The next morning at Polly’s Jerry receives a mysterious package. He decides to go out and get cigarettes before opening it.
- 16: Joseph K tries to shoot Jerry at a cigarette machine but wings a nearby guard instead. The Russians hurry off, while Jerry runs back to Polly’s flat.
- 17: Polly’s package turns out to be artwork for the Devil Rider comic strip in Whoomf! She offers to take Jerry to a hiding spot but first has to drop off the comic art and stops at Brook-Hopkins’ office. When the Russians see Jerry sneaking around the government offices they believe that he is reporting to his superiors.
- 18: With the Russians in pursuit, Polly takes Jerry to her hideout, a houseboat on the Norfolk Broads.
- 19: The next day, while Jerry and Polly lounge on the deck of Polly’s boat, Joseph K approaches and takes aim with his pistol. When, Jerry tries some amateur fly-fishing, his line inadvertently catches on Joseph K’s gun, yanking it away from him.
- 20: While Polly goes off on an errand, Jerry takes a stroll. Joseph K tries to fall upon him from behind but slips on a log and falls into the water. He next decides to drill holes in the houseboat so that it will sink at night.
- 21: While Joseph K drills, Jerry tosses an empty beer bottle overboard which inadvertently knocks the Russian unconscious. Joseph K and Zhivako are observed by a black-clad female spy.
- 22: At night, Jerry sees what appears to be the Devil Rider himself, and believes that he has been lured to this remote location in order to be tortured by a devil cult.
- 23: Polly returns, and is at first skeptical of Jerry’s claims of the Devil Rider. However, when the screaming, laughing rider returns, she is thrilled to be involved in the episode.
- 24: While fleeing the Devil Rider, they bump into Joseph K and Zhivako, who both offer their surrender. Jerry and Polly ignore them and continue on, but soon bump into the black-clad woman.
- 25: Jerry and Polly flee from the black woman and are then captured by the Devil Rider and his devil-worshipping minions. They are taken to an abandoned windmill.
- 26: After Jerry and Polly are strung up on chains, the Devil Rider reveals himself to be Barry Wharton, the publisher of Whoomf! Wharton and his staff have been going out into the countryside each weekend to reenact scenes from the Devil Rider for kicks. Wharton accuses Jerry of murdering Judy and Fairbright, but Polly then reveals herself as the true killer of Thorpe, Judy and Fairbright.
- 27: Polly reveals that Thorpe, Judy and Fairbright knew who the real writer of the Devil Rider comic strip was and had to be killed for knowing too much.
- 28: The Woman in Black arrives and frees Jerry from the maddened faux-devil worshippers. After freeing herself, Polly escapes through the marsh and escapes in Wharton’s car. The Woman in Black leads Jerry after her and they find Jerry’s own car nearby.
- 29: Jerry and the WIB pursue Polly to Dyescheoffski’s house where they capture Polly before she murders the diplomat in an attempt to silence him. Rushing to Polly’s house, they catch Booth-Hopkins trying to escape, but Joseph K suddenly pulls up and obeys Jerry’s command to stop the English poet.
- 30: The WIB is revealed to be Shirley, who has been keeping track of Jerry through a hidden transmitter. Chief Fry arrives and Jerry explains to him that Booth-Hopkins, needing money, had begun writing the Devil Rider comic strip. Polly (his agent) had then black-mailed him into including government secrets in the balloon dialogue, which was then extracted by Dyescheoffski. Polly had then felt the need to kill all of the conspirators to prevent her scheme from becoming too exposed. Joseph K gives Jerry shares in his secret Swiss restaurant franchise as a good will gift, and Zhivako defects so that he can enjoy British fashion in the open.
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| New English Library 1980 |
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