Checkpoint

O'Donovan breaks into a factory in Florence late at night to reach a hidden safe. The burglary triggers the alarm, and he shoots the night watchman and at least one policeman. His gunfire also starts a fire that rapidly consumes the factory.

O'Donovan seeks Francesca to get in touch with her boss Petersen. Petersen hides him at his villa to keep him out of reach of the authorities. The fugitive's presence pulls Francesca and others into a dangerous web of intrigue.

Warren Ingram explains his connection to the Florence fiasco to Michael. He had hired O'Donovan to lure away the Volta D'Italia designer, but the plan fails and O'Donovan turns to industrial espionage. Ingram reiterates that illegal or violent actions were not supposed to happen.

Ingram decides to smuggle O'Donovan out of the country and Michael recommends driver Bill Fraser, who needs money for a race car he designed. This creates the pipeline for a risky substitution in future races.

The team boards a flight to Italy, followed by Ingram and Michael. This transports the scheme to the heart of the racing operation and aligns everyone with the upcoming race.

In Italy, Fraser mends his strained romantic relationship with Francesca, signaling shifting loyalties as the race approaches. The rekindled bond adds personal stakes to the professional tensions.

While hiding at Petersen's villa, O'Donovan is told that Ingram intends to send him to Bombay via Switzerland. He instructs Petersen to tell Ingram that he will sell the fuel intake plans to him in exchange.

At the team's garage, Ingram orders Thornhill to pair Johnny Carpenter with Fraser as co-drivers for the crucial Florence to Locarno race. The plan hinges on disrupting Johnny's participation to favor Fraser.

Thornhill is sent to the refueling stop at Milan, where Ingram meets O'Donovan and reluctantly buys the fuel intake plans. The transactional move formalizes the espionage angle of the plot.

Petersen and his girlfriend Gabriela drug Johnny's drinks, enabling the substitution to proceed without alerting the team. The scheme relies on unobserved tampering and misdirection.

The next day, Ingram calls Bill to Johnny's room where Johnny is unconscious beside a whisky bottle. Ingram offers Bill financial backing for his own race car in exchange for taking the risk of substituting another co-driver for Johnny.

On the day of the race, Francesca goes to Johnny's room to fetch him but encounters O'Donovan and Petersen. Petersen holds Francesca captive while O'Donovan masquerades as Johnny, and Ingram warns Francesca that she could face prison if she tells authorities.

At the race-stop in Milan, Francesca warns Bill about the danger. O'Donovan points his pistol at him, forcing Bill to resume the race despite the tension and risk.

Francesca asks Thornhill for help, and he drives her along a shortcut through the mountains to intercept Bill and O'Donovan without involving the police. The maneuver heightens the stakes and speeds up events.

Bill, attempting to evade O'Donovan's threat, takes a dangerous turn and the car goes off the road, teetering by a cliff. The two men fight as the vehicle plunges into a lake, while Ingram arrives to confess to a frontier guard, taking responsibility for the scheme.