Bonita Quintero knows that her husband, Esteban, the Panamanian Consul General in Los Angeles, is having an affair. She wants Benny Goldfarb, Private "I" to get information about the girlfriend and to locate her husband's hidden assets. An FBI agent contacts Benny and asks him to take the case. Esteban's lover is an agent for the Chinese military. The Chinese have asserted their influence in Central America. Control of the Panama Canal hangs in the balance.