The third man : Rollo Martins, a second-rate novelist, arrives penniless to visit his friend and hero, Harry Lime. But Harry has died in suspicious circumstances, and the police are closing in on his associates. The fallen idol : A small boy is caught up in the games adults play. Left in the care of the butler and his wife while his parents go on holiday, Philip realizes too late the danger of lies and deceit. But the truth is even deadlier.