A Soviet colonel named Mikhail writes a letter to a general in the army to explain an incident that occurred on the tenth of November. He describes his proven history of loyalty to the USSR through his long military service, which leads him to his assignment to protect German scientist Comrade Dieter. Dieter was a Jewish scientist in Nazi Germany held to research the atomic bomb, and when the Russians invaded, they took him for their own research. He underwent a reeducation program that established his loyalty to the country, and since then has diligently worked for the program. Mikhail describes at length the various activities he did with Dieter, assuming that the other man also greatly enjoyed his company and agreed with his loyalty to the USSR. He even describes Dieter’s appreciation for art, which he would send back and forth to his brother in the US. In November, they go to a conference in East Berlin together, but while at a train station, two agents shoot at Mikhail and whisk Dieter away. The Berlin police apprehend Mikhail and question him, but eventually let him go to make his way back to Moscow. Even there, the USSR blames him for Dieter’s escape and threatens to imprison him. Mikhail realizes that the art exchanges were actually secret messages that told Dieter the conditions of his rescue, and that he had been deceived the entire time. His letter ends with a plea to the general to take mercy and save him from indefinite imprisonment.