Steed and Mrs Peel swerve to avoid a dog and crash into a tree. The clock in the car smashes and stops just before 11 o'clock. Steed knows the area well and the two set out on foot and visit the old RAF base. They enter the lounge and find it set for a party but everyone is absent. They do not yet notice that the clock has stopped at 11 and the fish in the tank have frozen still. Outside they find a car with petrol flooding and nobody attending to it. The other buildings of the base are empty and a milk cart abandoned. Seeing the name Geoffrey in the book, they visit his quarters and also find it empty and an electric shaver still running. They find the air control tower empty and then spot the milkman fleeing across the tarmac who is shot dead.