Two tourists in Bombay meet a beggar on the street and ask him to relate a story, and he does: he relates the story of Baron von Emmelman, as well as the story of one of the instigators of WW1, the mysterious Q-4, who never was brought to justice. It seems Q-4 made his way to Argentina and tells (through a note to the Police) that he is in country, a fact made known to a Captain Morgan, who has been hunting for Q-4. What Morgan learns about Q-4 and Maria and her connection to von Emmelman literally shocks him.