The Diplomat - Recap

Jim goes to a park and collects the tape player from a fire alarm box. Two days ago, information pinpointing America’s four missile control centers is stolen. The thief, Major Barrett, and his accomplices were arrested, but the information was passed on to Colonel Valentin Yetkoff, military attaché at the Washington embassy. Yetkoff has to confirm the information is accurate, and he’s given that assignment to Roger Toland, his top agent in the diplomatic circles. The IMF must prevent Yetkoff from confirming the information is accurate and turning it over to his superiors.

Jim chooses Rollin, Barney, and Willy for the team. He also chooses Dr. David Walters, who runs a suicide prevention clinic. Finally, Jim picks Presidential advisor Everett Buchanan and his wife Susan. At the briefing, Jim explains that Yetkoff has already sent off the information. Since there’s no way to recover it, they have to make the enemy believe the information is incorrect. Rollin has a harness prepared and Willy has a capsule that will make a car engine run poorly, but can be flushed in five minute. The courier arrives Tuesday morning as usual, and Barney has fake identity papers prepared for Jim. Jim then turns to Susan and Everett and explains that Toland knows every VIP in Washington. He admits that Toland has already killed twice that they know of, women that had given him top-secret information. In each case he made their deaths look like self-induced drug overdoses. Dr. Walters assures Susan that there’s an adequate safety margin, but warns that they have to use the real drugs since Toland has used them before and knows how they work. Everett says that the decision is up to Susan, and she agrees to take the risk on behalf of the U.S.



At the embassy, Yetkoff meets with his assistant Grigor and Toland and pinpoints the four missile control locations. Toland notes that there have been no public announcements concerning the stolen documents, and no reactions from his official contacts. Yetkoff wonders if the Americans even know the information was stolen, but admits they have no way to confirm the accuracy of the data if they can’t talk to Barrett. Toland assures Yetkoff that he will verify the information through his own “unofficial” sources.

As Toland leaves the embassy, Barney as a traffic officer pulls over Willy, a truck driver. They stop by the embassy limo driven by Nicolai, and Willy slips the capsule into the limo. As they leave, Jim pulls up posing as a telephone repairman and goes into the embassy. He speaks with Grigor, who takes him to the switch box.



The Buchanans are at a party and Rollin is a photographer taking pictures. Toland comes in as a general calls Everett away for a moment. Everett then stages a conversation with Susan near Toland, where she complains that he keeps leaving her for meetings. Rollin takes a couple of photos of Toland and suggests that Susan pose with him. She angrily tells him to stay from her and walks away. However, she then asks to talk to Toland privately and apologizes for walking away. Susan tells Roland that Rollin is despicable and Toland offers her a drink.



At the embassy, Jim checks the phone lines while Grigor watches him. He tries to enter Yetkoff’s office but Grigor stops him.

Susan continues to talk to Toland, bemoaning the fact that her husband is rarely there for her. He continues to flirt with her.

Jim asks Grigor to flick a switch while he traces the line. The agent then goes to Yetkoff’s office and listens to Yetkoff dictating a letter. Grigor comes up behind Jim and captures him, but Jim goes in and says his business is with Yetkoff. Jim explains that he was a part of Major Barrett’s team, and his orders were to report to Yetkoff if his immediate superior was arrested. When Yetkoff questions his credentials, Jim gives him the proper code message and provides his right thumbprint. He came in as a telephone repairman to avoid American surveillance. Yetkoff tells him to meet him at Jackson Park the next day once they verify his credentials.

When Nicolai’s engine acts up due to the capsule, he takes the car to the garage. Barney has taken over for the regular man. He tells Nicolai it will take eight hours to fix it and assures the driver that it will be ready in the morning. Once Nicolai leaves, Willy comes out and the two agents go to work, removing the back seat.

Toland goes to Susan’s apartment and they dance on the patio. As they start to kiss, the doorbell rings and she goes to get rid of the caller. It’s Rollin, and they stage an angry conversation that Toland overhears. She opens a safe and pays him blackmail because he has photos of her. Toland, looking in through the patio window, sees a red top-secret binder and a red phone inside. Rollin tells Susan that he’ll be paying her every week and leaves.



Barney and Willy continue their work on the embassy limo, rigging the back compartment with a new hidden chamber capable of holding a man.

Susan apologizes to Toland for letting him see herself being blackmailed. She explains that she had an affair in Paris and Rollin found out and took pictures. Susan doesn’t have enough money to buy the negatives, but Toland assures her that nothing is hopeless. He kisses her and says that they’ll discuss it tomorrow. Susan takes some barbiturates to help her sleep and Toland warns that they can be dangerous.

Willy rigs a gas canister inside of the compartment with a tube leading out into the passenger compartment.

Toland goes to see Rollin and demands Susan’s negatives. He tells Rollin to take the $10,000. When Rollin protests that they’re worth double that, Toland slaps him and Rollin agrees to turn them over the next day.



Barney and Willy finish their work.

Toland goes to the embassy and gets the $10,000 from Yetkoff to pay off Rollin. He assures the colonel that the red phone will have the phone numbers of the missile centers. When Grigor suggests he open it, Toland warns him that the authorities will have rigged it to explode, which is why they need Susan to do it.

The courier arrives at the airport carrying a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. Nicolai picks him up in the embassy limo and the courier gets into the back. Barney is in the secret compartment, and the courier tries to open the backseat hatch. It’s locked and the courier gives up. Barney puts on a gas mask and turns on the knockout gas.

Toland meets Rollin at his studio and pays him the $10,000. He demands the negatives and pictures and Rollin goes to get them.

The courier passes out in the back in the airtight passenger section. Barney then opens the hatch and grabs the briefcase.

Toland realizes that Rollin has given him the wrong negatives and threatens him until he turns over the real ones.



Barney picks the lock on the briefcase, removes the letter concerning Jim, and replaces it with his valid ID papers identifying him as an enemy agent.

Once Rollin hands over the negatives, he shoves Toland aside and makes a break for it. As Toland prepares to shoot him, Rollin trips and falls on a stand, which impales him. Satisfied that he’s dead, Toland collects the $10,000 and leaves.

Barney deliberately scratches the lock on the briefcase and puts it back up on the seat. He then closes the compartment door and waits.

Jim helps Rollin remove the harness that let him fake being impaled.

Yetkoff goes over the courier’s papers but realizes that Jim’s identity papers are not authentic. Grigor finds the scratch marks on the lock and they figure that someone has tampered with the briefcase. They go to the limo and find the hidden compartment, and Yetkoff figures that Jim is an American agent. He goes with Grigor to talk to Jim before Grigor kills him.

At the park, Grigor and Yetkoff approach Jim. Grigor secretly trains a gun on Jim, who tells Yetkoff that Barrett gave him an assignment to use telephone records to track down the four Air Force generals at the missile sites. Jim admits that he doesn’t know their locations yet but he’ll have them this afternoon. Yetkoff tells him to report to the embassy when he has them, and assures Jim that they’ll pay him at the embassy. Jim walks away and Yetkoff signals Grigor to let him live. He explains to his assistant that he wants to find out where the Americans want them to think the missile control centers are.



Toland takes the negatives to Susan, who burns them and thanks him for his help. He claims that he paid Rollin out of his own pocket and Susan promises to pay him back. Outside, Rollin, Dr. Walters, Barney, and Willy are in a van listening in via a hidden transmitter. Meanwhile, Toland says that the man he borrowed the money from wants collateral, and asks for anything she can spare. Susan opens the safe and Toland shoves her aside and takes the code booklet. When she tries to stop him, Toland slaps her aside, tests his pills, and then dissolves them in water. When she runs for the door, he stops her, locks the door, and forces her to drink the barbiturates. Outside, Dr. Walters starts timing and warns the team they only have 15-20 minutes.

As Susan passes out, Toland puts her fingers on the glass while making sure he doesn’t leave his own. He then takes photos of the missile site locations. Susan tries to crawl to the phone but collapses. Toland puts the book back into the safe and closes it, as eighteen minutes pass. He confirms that Susan is dying and leaves. Once Toland is clear, the team runs in and Walters resuscitates her just in time.



Toland takes the photos to Yetkoff, who confirms that the information matches what Barrett stole. Jim arrives and Yetkoff meets with him privately. He gives the colonel the locations... and they match the information that Toland confirmed. Yetkoff pays Jim and tells him he’ll be contacted when they have a new assignment for him. Once he leaves, Yetkoff has Toland brought back in and tells him that the Americans want them to think the information is accurate... which means it must be false. When Toland points out that he verified the same information, the colonel concludes that he is an American agent as well and shoots him. He then has Grigor burn all of the information, while the IMF makes their escape.



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