In the movie and book, James Bond saves a woman (Teresa di Vicenzo, played by Diana Rigg) who tries to drown herself in the ocean and later gambles with money that she does not have. Her father, Marc Ange Draco, (Gabriele Ferzetti) the head of a Corsican mafia family, proposes that if James Bond marries his daughter, Bond will receive one million dollars on their wedding day. Bond refuses, but agrees to see her again. Bond asks the crime boss to use his connections to find Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas), the head of the crime organization S.P.E.C.T.R.E. The name Blofeld was inspired by the father of English Cricket commentator Henry Bolfeld, with whom Flemming went to school.
Several men from Draco's organization have been recruited by Blofeld, via an attorney in Bern, Switzerland. A search of the attorney's office reveals correspondence between Blofeld and the Royal College of Arms. Blofeld is attempting to lay claim to the title 'Compte de Bleuchamp'. His correspondence is with Sir Hillary Bray, a geneologist at the College. Bond proposes posing as Bray so that he may visit Blofeld, on the pretense of verifying a physical attribute of the Bleuchamps - a lack of earlobes.
Blofeld has established a research institute, Piz Gloria, on top of a mountain in Switzerland (filmed at a restaurant on top of the Schilthorn in the Bernese Oberland). Bond, undercover as the foppish Bray, meets ten beautiful women from around the world. The women are at the institute undergoing an unorthodox treatment for their allergies. In reality, the young women are unknowingly being trained to distribute biological warfare agents throughout the world.
Bond's lasciviousness exposes his true identity. He escapes by skiing down the mountain, while being chased by Blofeld and his henchmen. He ends up in a village during a winter festival. Now it is Tracy’s turn to save James. Tracy is in Switzerland undergoing therapy, and has found out James' location from her father. James and Tracy meet unexpectedly while Bond is being pursued. They escape in her car, but she is captured by Blofeld. With Draco, Bond returns by helicopter to destroy the institute and save Tracy.
Bond and Tracy marry, but Tracy is shot by by Irma Bunt, Blofeld's right hand woman, while Bond's car was on the side of the road, stopped on a long drive. Bond would supposedly avenge Tracy Bond in his final outing with Blofield.