What happens
Gerald Wells, a veteran diplomat, hopes to be named ambassador when an opening arises, and he is competing against his colleague Eric Thomas. At a Washington party hosted by the widowed Helena Forsyth, the rivalry sharpens as Wells and Thomas trade bitter words over the appointment. Wells later travels to San Francisco for a trade conference, and before leaving he mails a package of imported cheeses. Thomas receives the package and dies. Wells is interviewed by a police lieutenant and then by the columnist Stanton Edwards, who has a photograph of Wells with the package. Edwards reveals that the appointment was being pursued by Helena Forsyth on someone else's behalf.
Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, 1950s
Characters: Gerald Wells, Helena Forsyth, Eric Thomas, Stanton Edwards, Donald Wilkins
Listen for: Wells's conversation with Helena Forsyth at the party and the rivalry over the ambassadorship.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.