Character Relationship Map: Scorpio

Characters

• Cross (played by Burt Lancaster) — protagonist

  Cross is an experienced but retiring CIA agent and assassin who trains Jean Laurier to replace him. Suspected of treason, he is targeted by the CIA, escapes to Vienna with help from Sergei Zharkov, re...

• Sergei Zharkov (played by Paul Scofield) — supporting

  Sergei Zharkov is Cross's Soviet opposite and friend. When Cross flees to Vienna, Zharkov provides him with a safehouse and later helps him cover his tracks and return to America. Although his agency...

• McLeod (played by John Colicos) — supporting

  McLeod is the CIA director responsible for the campaign against Cross and for the operation that leads to Sarah Cross's death. After returning to America, Cross rejects official protection, evades cap...

• Susan (played by Gayle Hunnicutt) — supporting

  Susan is connected to Cross's covert operation and is seen leaving the Library of Congress with Jean Laurier's girlfriend. Jean realizes that she is working with Cross, and after confronting them, he...

• Filchock (played by J.D. Cannon) — supporting

  Filchock is the new CIA director and Jean Laurier's handler. He shows Jean evidence suggesting that Cross may previously have collaborated with foreign agents for money, then directs him toward anothe...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Cross → Susan (Professional Operational Contact) — Susan is connected to Cross's covert intelligence activity.

  Surveillance leads to a meeting involving Susan, and Cross explains that she was a Czech courier while he served as a middleman between agencies.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Filchock → Cross (Conflict Targeting Authority) — Filchock helps direct the agency's campaign against Cross.

  Filchock, identified as the new CIA director and a handler, shows evidence concerning Cross and is involved in the renewed contract targeting him.

• Cross → McLeod (Conflict Enemy) — Their conflict becomes personal after the death of Cross's wife.

  McLeod is identified as the agency director responsible for the operation that caused Cross's wife to be killed, and Cross later kills McLeod.

• Cross → Sergei Zharkov (Social Friend) — Their personal friendship survives their opposing intelligence affiliations.

  Cross reunites with Sergei Zharkov in Vienna, and the plot explicitly describes Zharkov as his Soviet opposite and friend.

Story Analysis

A retiring intelligence operative tries to escape a system of betrayal, only to be destroyed by the lessons he taught his successor.

Plot Progression

1. The Successor Under Pressure — Cross prepares a freelance assassin to replace him while the CIA orders Cross's death. Cross attempts to control the situation by paying the assassin, but the CIA escalates by framing him for narcotic...
2. Vienna and the Old Friend — Cross flees to Vienna and reunites with Sergei Zharkov, his Soviet opposite and friend. Zharkov provides a safehouse as Cross tries to escape the intelligence world and bring his wife out of America.
3. A Death That Changes Everything — A failed CIA break-in kills Cross's wife and forces him back to the United States. Zharkov helps him travel and cover his tracks, while Cross retaliates by killing McLeod.
4. Evidence and Suspicion — Filchock presents allegations that Cross profited from foreign collaborations and renews the contract against him. Surveillance at the Library of Congress connects Susan to the covert network and inte...
5. The Last Lesson — Cross explains that Susan was a Czech courier and that he was only a middleman. Susan and Cross are killed in succession, followed by a mysterious shooting that fulfills Cross's earlier warning.