In the middle of the night, a man runs through the narrow back alleys of Venice. Three men are after him. He breaks into a travel agency, where he faxes Winch a hastily scribbled message before being gunned down by his pursuers. The person who hands Largo Winch the fax in New York is also killed. The message says only: 'Beware of the Doge'. The millionaire businessman hero thinks his friend, the gorgeous Charity, could be in trouble and heads for Italy. There, they are invited to a masked ball, where they finally meet the mysterious Doge.