Tanner is back after an absence of almost thirty years. Lawrence Block's sleep-deprived accidental spy had numerous entertaining adventures many years ago, but Lawrence Block turned his attention to other stories and Tanner disappeared from the world. Now he's back, but where has he been? Turns out he was frozen in a basement in New Jersey. Thawed out, he discovers that the world has changed around him, and he's got to learn to adapt. Fortunately, he doesn't sleep, so he's got 24 hours a day to learn everything he needs to know. HIs old chief is still around too, and still erroneously thinking that Tanner works for him, he sends him off to Burma (now renamed Myanmar) to destabilize the government there. What follows is a madcap caper involving stolen gems, a Russian/Jewish/Indian beauty, and a resistance movement that is just too comfortable and happy to rise up in revolt.