A man calling himself Henry Faber is actually a German spy nicknamed "the Needle" because of his preferred method of assassination, the stiletto. He is a coldly calculating sociopath, emotionlessly focused on the task at hand, whether the task is to signal a U-boat or to gut a witness to avoid exposure.
In England, he has obtained critical information on the Allies' invasion plans. Trying to make his way to Germany, he is stranded by a fierce storm on Storm Island, occupied only by a woman named Lucy (Kate Nelligan), her disabled husband David, their son, and their shepherd, Tom. A romance develops between the woman and the spy, due to an estrangement between Lucy and her husband, whose accident has rendered him emotionally crippled as well.
When David discovers their guest's true identity, a struggle ensues, ending with the Needle throwing him off a cliff. Lucy realizes that her lover has been lying after she chances upon her husband's dead body. "The Needle" must get to Tom's radio to report to his superiors the exact location of the D-Day invasion. Lucy is the Allies' last chance. He is reluctant to harm her, but she has no such qualms and shoots him as he tries to escape in a boat.
Additional footage tells of Faber's activities four years before, and of David's accident, while another ending finds Lucy receiving help from British Intelligence.
Who is the Allies' last chance?
Lucy