Picture courtesy of Anke Lantin

The Agency is deserted. Amanda arrives and knocks on the front door then looks up and notices the camera is missing. She tries the door and it opens to reveal an empty foyer. She walks in and calls out for Mrs. Marsten then tries the elevator door which is locked. Behind her, the front door suddenly shuts and she turns around to see a man with a beard. As he apologises for scaring her, his accent reveals he's Russian. He tells her that he's looking for an address and holds out a card. Amanda reads it then hands it back saying she doesn't know where it is. She then informs him that she's leaving and indicates that he do the same. Outside, Amanda walks off and the man pulls out his wallet and opens it up and looks at a photo of Lee and Amanda.

That afternoon at home, the boys are preparing to go on a camping trip then Amanda tells them to go upstairs and get ready for dinner. When they go, Dotty asks Amanda if anything's wrong as she doesn't seem as happy as when she went to work that morning. Amanda denies there's a problem but Dotty continues to warn her about working with 'film people'. As she listens, Amanda gets a glass out of the cupboard and turns to fill it with water when Lee pops up at the window and signals for her to go outside. Making an excuse, she does so and Lee tells her he's just back from a classified mission. He asks if he's been to the Agency and when she says yes, he tells her that it's Operation Possum and that he'll explain later. She tells him she hasn't heard from anyone and Lee asks her for a favour - go bowling with him…right away!

They go to the bowling alley and Amanda tells him what the Agency was like. Lee is certain that something big has happened to activate Possum and Amanda again asks what it is. Lee explains that it's an emergency situation due to something major like a high level security leak but even though the office has shut down, the Agency itself is still in operation somewhere, he just doesn't know where and that's the reason he's at the bowling alley - to be contacted.

A while later, Amanda urges Lee to have a bowl and as he lines up his shot, he's contacted and told to pick up the telephone behind where they sit. When he does, Francine is on the line and tells him to be at that phone in an hour. Not happy, Lee puts down the phone and Amanda tells him that the man she saw at the Agency earlier is now standing in the game room which she thinks is more than just a coincidence. Lee agrees, then informs her that the man is a top Soviet spy called, Yuri Valov.

Lee tells Amanda they're leaving and they hurry out to her car and drive off. Valov rushes out after them and follows. Lee takes him down an out of the way road and spins to a halt. Valov does the same and both men get out and hide behind their car bonnets, guns aimed at each other. They agree to talk and after putting their guns away, Valov tells them that Field Marshal Krushenko, a man who advocates a first strike against the U.S., and two of his aides, Barkov and Yurinovsky, are in America. Barkov is a computer and communication specialist and Yurinovsky is an advanced weaponry genius. Krushenko has made himself an outlaw in his own country by going to America and Valov emphasises that he'd only do so if he had a plan - a plan that they must discover.

Lee is reluctant to work with Valov and asks how he found him. Valov says it was through Amanda because she had been seen in his company a number of times. Amanda then asks Lee if she can talk to him privately and tells him that she remembers transcribing wiretaps between Barkov and Yurinovsky. Lee says that to protect her cover, she must follow his lead when they go back to Valov. Acting as though they're romantically involved, Amanda tells Valov about the taps and he's eager to get to their computer. When Lee is still suspicious, Valov asks him to trust him and Lee does. They then go back to the bowling alley.

Meanwhile, at Krushenko's hideout - a funeral parlour - Barkov and Yurinovsky tell their boss about Valov entering the bowling alley after Lee and Amanda. Krushenko orders them to go back to the alley and kill Valov and anyone with him. They leave and he walks over to a table upon which it appears a bomb is being constructed.

Back at the alley, Francine contacts Lee and tells him to come back in an hour and until then to wait in the back room. They all go in and Lee tells Amanda that she can go. As she leaves, Valov asks if she remembers anything from the tapes but she doesn't, so he suggests hypnosis. Amanda doesn't think it'd work but Lee's look, she agrees and Valov puts her under almost immediately.

From what she recounts, they get the name of a restaurant called, Balalaika and a woman called, Svetlana. When Amanda awakes, they leave the room to go pay a visit to the restaurant. As they walk to the exit, Lee spots Barkov and Yurinovsky outside and tells Amanda to wait there while he and Valov go outside. As they walk to the car they're shot at and they take cover, returning fire. Valov then kills Yurinovsky and saves Lee's life but Barkov gets away. Back inside the bowling alley, they meet up with Amanda and show her what Yurinovsky was carrying on him - critical mass devices. Amanda asks if that means a bomb and Lee and Valov confirm it does.

At the funeral parlour, Billy is bound and gagged. Krushenko has abducted him in order to cause chaos at the Agency and therefore make it ineffective. Then to Billy's horror, Krushenko shows him a nuclear device that he's smuggled through customs bit by bit in order to start a nuclear war.

At the alley, Amanda is under hypnosis again and recounting information when Francine and two other agents arrive. Francine wants to know what's happening as Lee isn't yet cleared and in the company of a top Soviet agent. Amanda interrupts asking about the nuclear bomb as she wants to go home and get her family out of the Washington area. Lee thinks Krushenko will detonate it and asks Francine to tell Billy that they need the Barkov tapes but Francine reveals that all tapes regarding Krushenko have been mysteriously wiped. Amanda realises that she's their only hope and asks if she can get Dotty and the boys onto a train to Vermont and come back in the morning. Francine is reluctant to let her go but relents when Lee intervenes.

When Amanda has left, Francine reveals that Billy is missing and that is what triggered Possum. Lee is shocked then tells them to sit down while he brief's them on what he and Valov have discovered.

At home the next morning, Amanda is giving the boys their breakfast when Dotty walks in wanting to know why they're up so early. Amanda tries to persuade her to take the boys to a relation in Vermont, but Dotty refuses to go. In desperation, Amanda tells Dotty that she's a spy and all about the bomb. Dotty responds by saying that when Amanda was a child and wanted something, she always made up outrageous stories like this. Amanda asks again and Dotty agrees to go but tells her she needn't lie.

At the bowling alley, Lee tells Francine that they come up with nothing at the Balalaika restaurant but Valov suggests trying out of the D.C. area and in the suburbs. They start to check the book when Amanda arrives. Lee says she should've gone with her family but Amanda is adamant that as the only source of information she stays. Just then, the other agents find another Balalaika restaurant and they all head off to investigate.

At the funeral home, Krushenko and Barkov are readying the bomb for transportation in a hearse. Billy tries to reason with Krushenko but he doesn't succeed and is worried when his foe arms the bomb and it starts counting down.

At the Balalaika, Lee asks for Svetlana and a waitress called Debbie admits that's her and reveals that two Russian men, 'Barky' and 'Anatoly' frequent the restaurant and she let them call her that. Lee asks she knows where they are but she can't remember. He then asks if they ever dated but she replies no as he reminded her of her Biology teacher because he smelt of formaldehyde. She then suddenly remembers that they mentioned something about Odessa apartments and Francine goes off to get a phone book. When she returns they check the book and find an Odessa Funeral Home listed. As that fits with what the waitress said, Lee tells Francine to get a hold of the White House and tell them that it's a Condition Four.

Valov, Lee and Amanda then head over to Amanda's car but Lee doesn't want her to come along but changes his mind when Amanda says that she doesn't want to be alone in a cab somewhere if goes off.

They arrive at the funeral home and Amanda waits in the car as the men go in the back way. They check each room and eventually find Billy gagged and tied up in a coffin. Billy tells Lee that the bomb is due to go off in thirty minutes at the Arlington National Cemetery when the President is there giving a speech at a ceremony.

At the cemetery, Krushenko and Barkov have placed the bomb in a coffin and laid flowers around it as if it's awaiting a funeral party to arrive. They then drive away but Lee and the others pull into the cemetery and Amanda notices the hearse from the funeral name on it. Lee turns around and gives chase out onto the highway. Billy tells Lee how long they have left and then in front of them Krushenko opens the tailgate up and gets ready to throw a grenade at them. Valov leans out of the window and shoots him, causing the Field Marshal to fall back and drop the explosive. Barkov pulls off the road and jumps out just as the hearse blows up. Lee, Valov and Billy get out and confront Barkov demanding to know where the bomb is and informing him that he was on a suicide mission. Not realising the bomb was already set, Barkov agrees to go back to the cemetery and show them where it is.

Once there, they open the coffin and follow Barkov's instructions on how to disable the device. Unfortunately, Krushenko has left a nasty surprise in that he's attached two wires and Barkov doesn't know which one to pull. As Lee tries to decide, Billy begins counting down the seconds and Amanda urges Lee to pull the blue wire. Deciding to go with her intuition, Lee pulls the blue wire and the bomb deactivates.

There's celebration all round and when Lee asks how she knew, Amanda replies that whenever her dishwasher at home plays up she just jiggles the blue wire.

The next day at the Agency, things are being put back in their place. Amanda asks Lee if Valov got home OK and Lee says that he did and is even getting a Hero of the Soviet Union medal. He also tells her that Barkov will be sent home in a few days and tried for treason.

Lee then goes on to say that it's a good thing Amanda is so easy to hypnotise but Amanda refutes this and as they bicker, Francine interrupts them as she's having trouble with a lamp that's wires are hanging out - Lee advises her to try the blue one.

SCENE'S TO WATCH OUT FOR:

Lee and Amanda at the bowling alley.

Amanda disputing she can be hypnotised and being put under and still disputing it when they bring her out of it.

Amanda revealing all about her secret life to Dotty and her mother not believing a word.

Lee trying to deactivate the bomb.

Tag.

ROMANCE:

No romance in this episode, but there are a couple of nice moments. The first is when Amanda comes back to the bowling alley after seeing her mother and boys off on the train. Lee says she should have gone with them but the way he smiles at her when she says that she said she'd come back so she did, is sweet, respectful even, like he's just seen yet another side of Amanda that's impressed him. Even Valov notices the affection between them and tells Lee there's 'no time for sentiment'. Moving on from that is when Amanda then decides to go with them to the restaurant but Lee says no. Not an order 'no' but more of a 'no…please'. Naturally Amanda's insistent and Lee gives in but the smile's still there.

The other moment that's cute is the spontaneous hug at the end after Lee deactivates the bomb following Amanda's urging to pull the blue wire. I know relief probably had a lot to do with it but it was nice to see Lee take the initiative and I didn't see either of them hugging anyone else!

Definite affection growing.

QUOTES:

AMANDA: If I'm not gonna' be briefed then why am I here?

LEE: Well, look stupid me going bowling alone.

AMANDA: Lee, you wanted me to come along so it wouldn't look stupid, but it doesn't look natural if you just sit there and you don't bowl.

LEE: You know, it's a damn good thing that you are an easy subject for hypnosis.

AMANDA: Ah, gee, I wasn't so easy.

LEE: Oh yes you were…

AMANDA: No, I wasn't easy.