The Land of Light and Peace

Callan has been attending séances held in an old cinema by the ‘League of Light’, run by medium Miss Hogg (Betty Marsden), a rather dominating lady. Two of the regulars are Jane Ellis (Avril Elgar) and Geoffrey Gleeson (Allen Cullen) who are engaged, and who work for the Ministry of Defence, and are suspected by the Section of leaking secrets.

Meres has searched both their flats but found nothing except a safe in Gleeson’s. The safe, a Thurlow, is difficult to break, even for an experienced peterman like Callan, so he approaches the manufacturers for a copy of the blueprints. With this information, he and Meres break into Gleeson’s flat and open the safe, finding theatre programs, assorted envelopes and pills, but no microfilm.

Gleeson returns unexpectedly, and is knocked unconscious by Meres. However, Callan discovers that Gleeson has died from the blow, and realises that the pills were for a heart condition. Meanwhile, Jane is having her fortune told by Miss Hogg who tells her that something might prevent her marriage to Gleeson. She then suggests it may be their business arrangements; her friends are getting impatient for the microfilm.

Investigating Gleeson’s death are Detective Inspector Charwood (Wensley Pithey) and Detective Sergeant Lynn (Bruce Purchase). Charwood interviews Jane, who tells him all about the League of Light, and gives him a list of all the members, including ‘David Tucker’. Miss Hogg has attracted another customer, Meres, who is invited to stay for a drink after she tells his fortune.

Jane asks Callan to join her at a tea-shop, where they find Charwood waiting for them. The detective questions Callan about his relationship with Gleeson, then Callan makes an excuse to leave, but has to supply his address before he goes. When Callan has left, Charwood picks up the teaspoon he was using, wraps it up and pockets it. Hunter is informed by Callan that he was set up by Jane, and that if he goes down for the murder, Meres will go down with him.

Arriving home, Callan finds Charwood waiting for him. Charwood tells him that he knows he killed Gleeson, and that he has discovered Callan’s real identity from the prints on the teaspoon. When Callan refuses to be intimidated, Charwood points out that he will make sure Callan is sentenced to life imprisonment. Meanwhile, Meres has had some degree of success in finding the microfilm, having drugged Miss Hogg to get it. However, when Hunter examines it, he notices six vital frames missing.

Charwood, feeling he needs more evidence, returns to Gleeson’s flat where he comes across a wool fibre, which he feels is all he needs. At the tea-shop, Callan confronts Jane, telling her that Miss Hogg has been arrested on spying charges, and asks her to accompany him to the place "where it’s all light and peace. At the cinema, Jane finally admits that she and Gleeson sold the microfilm to Miss Hogg for money so that they could get married, and then under threat of death, reveals the location of the missing six frames, which are stored in the sugar bowl used by the League for their after-séance tea!

Hunter goes to see Sir Bruce Ingoe (John Barrard) at the Home Office, who agrees to have the case against Callan lifted. Charwood visits Callan to surrender the wool fibre, and tell him that if he’d had his way, Callan would have been imprisoned for life.