Hugo Baron is an agent for DIECAST.
He is also a licensed lawyer though he was seriously considering quitting the practice of law even though he was apparently quite good at it. He is also a reporter for a major London newspaper and he is very good at that, though he did it more as a hobby than a profession. Still, it interested him. Even with these two professions to chose from, he is open to the idea of something more.
As the series begins, he is not yet an agent but is a man intrigued with a requested meeting with the publisher and owner of the newspaper who employs him. The meeting was an interesting battle of two bulls but at the end, Baron had agreed to do an errand for the wealthy man.
In the performance of the favor, Baron learns the true nature of the man and the fact that the man was the creator of a secret organization called DIECAST. Standing for "Destruction of International Espionage and Counter Activities for Stability and Trust", the group's existence is based on the premise that one of the greatest hindrances to world piece was the covert intelligence agencies fighting each other and spreading so much distrust.
By going against every country's spy organizations, DIECAST believes, the world has a chance at peace. These organization, of course, have a less than favorable attitude towards DIECAST and its agents.
Baron does not know if he believes in the cause or even if he wants to. His time as a lawyer and a reporter has made him jaded enough to doubt most causes and the one that DIECAST has is strange to begin with. But the excitement is real and the challenges are real and the pay is good. And it takes him out of the courtroom.