This kaleidoscopic murder mystery begins when Messinger (John Merivale) visits his friend Gethrin (George C. Scott). Messinger gives the retire air force colonel a list of twelve names and asks Gethrin to find the people on the list. Gethrin is alarmed when Messinger's plane blows up immediately following their visit. After looking into the list, he discovers the names all have something in uncommonly in common. All were British prisoners of war in Burma during World War II, and all but one of the men have died under mysterious circumstances. The trail leads Gethin to a sprawling country estate after it is discovered the killer is a master of disguise who was an enemy spy with the prisoners in Burma. The killer's next target is the young boy who is slated to inherit millions of dollars from his uncle, the next victim on The List Of Adrian Messinger. The still unknown killer sets a trap for the young boy as Gethrin tried to stop the murderer before it's too late. John Huston directs this film and make a cameo appearance. Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, and Kirk Douglas also have cameo roles and are nearly thoroughly disguised by the expert make-up magic of Bud Westmore.