The novel recounts the journey from Ostend to Istanbul of a group of travellers: a female journalist with her lover, a young Jewish merchant on a business trip, a thief turned murderer despite himself (on the run), a famous political fugitive, and a young woman named Coral.
During the journey, adventures and love stories intertwine, in particular the romance between the young merchant and Coral, between whom a genuine and lasting relationship seems to blossom.
At the Hungarian border, the police arrest the political fugitive (tipped off by the journalist), along with the thief and Coral.
The three manage to escape, but during the flight the political fugitive is mortally wounded and Coral stops to tend to him.
The young merchant, who was waiting with a car, leaves nonetheless for Constantinople, where he enters into a marriage of convenience.
All the characters are driven by selfish interests (money, fame, business, etc.
) with the exception of Coral, who gives up the young merchant in order to care for the political fugitive.
The girl is thus the only figure who reflects genuine feelings, unmediated by economic and ideological superstructures, but oriented toward the deeper dimensions of human life, such as solidarity toward a person in distress.
This novel, too, belongs to Greene’s “entertainment” vein, yet frankly from this perspective it is undoubtedly disappointing: the pacing is slow by the standards of modern detective fiction to which we are accustomed, and in any case insufficient to generate suspense and drive interest in the plot.
The most compelling section is the detention at the Hungarian border, as the contradictions of the various characters finally emerge and Coral’s figure comes to the fore.
Unlike Our Man in Havana, the novel is marked by a pervasive, profound bitterness: selfishness and vacuity invariably prevail over altruism and sincerity.
Interpersonal relationships are dominated by false feelings and by the pursuit of self-interest and narcissistic gratification.

Stamboul Train