| Director | David Greene |
|---|---|
| Genre | comedy film |
| Runtime | 100 min |
| Country | United Kingdom |
While running through the streets of Oxford to attend the bestowing of an honorary degree on the Prime Minister, Mr. Sebastian runs into model and former Oxford mathematics student Rebecca (Becky) Howard. After insulting Sebastian on the spot, Becky is intrigued by him and follows him to the ceremony. After Becky is able to spell her own name backwards, he gives her a phone number to call if she wants an unspecified job with the British civil service.
After doing well in the difficult interview, Becky learns that the job is with the all-female decoding office of British Intelligence that Sebastian directs, deciphering codes used by secret agents and foreign spies. Once settled in her new job, like the other women Becky becomes infatuated with the aloof director, whose personal life they know nothing of.
Besides the constant stress from the difficult work, Gen. John Phillips, head of security, accuses Sebastian's longtime senior decoder Elsa Shahn of being a security risk because of her left-wing Communist leanings. Sebastian convinces the Head of Intelligence to retain Shahn because of her value to him. Becky pursues and seduces Sebastian, who leaves his girlfriend, washed-up pop singer Carol Fancy.
The Swinging Sixties Becky dislikes the aloof Sebastian's obsession with work to the detriment of the rest of his life, including his shambling bachelor's apartment and her. Shahn provides secret information to a left-wing political organisation. When confronted with the security breach by Phillips—and Becky embarrassing him by accidentally revealing their relationship to the office—Sebastian resigns, breaks up with Becky, and returns to Oxford. Months later, the Head of Intelligence asks Sebastian to return temporarily, as the Americans have asked for his help to decipher signals from a Russian spy satellite. He agrees, if Shahn receives a full pension.
While looking for Becky, who also left the decoding department after Sebastian's resignation, Sebastian runs into Carol, who invites him to her apartment. Sebastian is drugged with LSD and lured to the top of the building by Toby, who unknown to Sebastian, is both Carol's lover and a foreign agent. Just as Toby is about to persuade the hallucinating Sebastian to jump off the building ledge to his death, Phillips saves him and arrests Toby.
Sebastian finds Becky, learns that he is the father of her newborn baby, and admits his love for her. A noise from the baby's rattle provides Sebastian with a clue to the Soviet signal. While again exasperated by Sebastian's obsession with his work, Becky assists as he immediately begins decoding the signal in her living room.