Many Happy Returns - Recap

Number Six wakes up and prepares his morning toiletry, but notices that there's no water in the pipes. There's no music from the speakers and when he goes outside, there's no one to be seen. Going back inside, he finds the phone dead. Number Six dresses and goes around the Village. Furniture is overturned and buildings are locked up, but there's no sign of any inhabitants. He climbs to the top of the bell tower but spots no one as far as he can see. He rings the bell but gets no response. Descending, he finds a taxi in working order and takes the key. He then goes to the Green Dome and finds the door unlocked. Going inside, he pries open the doors to Number Two's inner sanctum but finds it empty.



Number Six drives the taxi out past the Village borders and finds nothing but high mountains blocking his path. He chops down trees and empties a gasoline barrel, and takes everything to the peer. He lashes the objects together into a crude raft then goes to the store and takes a speaker and camera, then takes photographs of the Village. As he prepares to leave, he hears a crashing noise and spots a black cat on the nearby patio, which broke a plate. Number Six shoves off and sails across the ocean. He puts the camera film in a watertight bag takes apart the speaker, using the internal components to make a crude compass to steer by. Number Six maintains a log of his navigational coordinates and sails for 18 days. Finally he falls asleep and awakens to find men from a cabin cruiser going through his supplies. They shove him into the water and he drifts away, then swims back to the cruiser and secretly climbs aboard. He slips into a cabin and discovers that they're running illegal weapons. Making his way to the kitchen, Number Six sets oily rags on fire and subdues one smuggler, Gunther, when he comes to investigate. He then subdues the other man, Ernst, ties them both up, and locks up their cabin.



As he nears the coast, Number Six spots a signal light and steers for it. Ernst and Gunther manage to untie themselves and break through the wall into an adjoining cabin, then go to the bridge. One man grabs a gun and Number Six is forced to jump overboard and swim for shore. The next morning, he wakes up on the beach and determines that the camera and coordinate log are undamaged inside the waterproof pack. Number Six follows the path until he comes to a man with his dog. The man, a gypsy, ignores him and walks to his camp. Number Six follows and the gypsies offer him a cup of coffee but don't speak English. They are able to direct him to a nearby road and he follows it until he comes to a highway where an English bobby is directing traffic. Number Six determines they're searching vehicles. He slips away and boards a passing truck, then hides in the back and sleeps while he can.



The truck arrives in London and Number Six jumps out to find himself in the middle of the city. He goes to his flat and is greeted by a maid who informs him the mistress isn't at home and closes the door on him. He waits until a woman drives up in his car and then confronts her. She seems amused when he says the car is his own and invites him inside. She introduces herself as Mrs. Butterworth and offers him tea. She leaves him in the study for a few minutes and then returns and provides the date: the day before his birthday. Mrs. Butterworth has rented the home on a ten-year lease and her husband is dead. The maid brings in refreshments and after eating them, Number Six attempts to prove he lived there. Mrs. Butterworth insists that it isn't necessary and he asks to see the lease. There's no indication of the previous owner and the car was for sale and she purchased it. Number Six thanks her for her help and prepares to leave, and she suggests that he stay so that she can help him. She loans him clothing and money, and grants him the use of the car. As he leaves, she promises to make him a birthday cake if he comes back.



Number Six drives to the office where he resigned and confronts the man he tendered his resignation to. He then turns his photos of the Village over to his former superiors, the Colonel and Thorpe. They are somewhat skeptical of his claims and explain that the fact that he disappeared makes him suspect. Number Six notes that he isn’t sure which side runs the Village but he plans to solve it… with them or on his own. Thorpe orders the Colonel to check out Number Six’s story. Agents backtrack along Number Six’s path and corroborate everything but the gun runners and their boat. Thorpe is willing to accept his story and Number Six then goes back over his log and backtracks his passage to determine the maximum and minimum distance he traveled. The final location puts the Village somewhere west of Morocco, southwest of Portugal and Spain.



Number Six proceeds to the airport to go up with a pilot to search for the Village. He boards the plane, unaware that the pilot has been replaced. The plane flies over the coordinates and Number Six spots the island on which the Village is located. The pilot says “Be seeing you!” and ejects Number Six from the plane. He parachutes down to the beach and walks into the Village. The place is still seemingly uninhabited. Number Six enters his flat and the water, lights, and power comes on. A woman is waiting for him with a birthday cake: Mrs. Butterworth, wearing a Number 2 badge. She wishes him “Many happy returns.” He looks outside to see everyone and everything back to normal.




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