Hidden City

Sharon contacts James after he sacks the wrong piece of film; she is determined to uncover the truth. She reveals she has obtained a mysterious film which appears to show an abduction. She asks for James's official credentials to locate and authenticate it. The request sets the quest in motion.

James tracks down possible origins of the film and visits a derelict tram depot and an archive beneath Oxford Street. He learns the film has already moved since his initial search, complicating the hunt. The locations shift as new clues emerge.

The search follows the film's trail to a landfill site where a police presence signals that authorities are actively involved. They sense the investigation is under scrutiny and that the piece may be moved again. Tension rises as they push forward.

They reach the Edmonton incinerator just as time runs out and manage to rescue the film before it is burned. The act is fraught with danger and desperation. The recovered footage promises new clues, even as its quality remains poor.

Back with the recovered film, they view it and find it is of very poor quality, showing only a dark image of a woman before a tribunal. A card at the end instructs them to seek the next film, Hop-Picking in Kent. The film’s enigmatic nature deepens the mystery.

James wakes at Sharon's house after a drunken night at a video duplication service and discovers Sharon has a young daughter. Sharon leaves the child with him as she goes out to work, disrupting James's routine life. The new responsibility adds pressure to their investigation.

They take the baby to meet James's ex-wife, but two officials ambush them and beat James, demanding the medical records he picked up at the landfill. The assault underscores that powerful interests want the records silenced. The danger tightens around James and Sharon.

James seeks counsel from his city friend Anthony, who warns him to go home and forget the matter. Anthony hints that he too has been questioned, signaling a broader pursuit. The warning confirms that they are targets in a larger conspiracy.

James returns to his house to find it searched by officials. After an unexpected encounter, he escapes and is reunited with a distressed Sharon who has been worried about her daughter. The incident intensifies their resolve to pursue the truth.

A friend of Sharon's digs through archives and discovers Hop-Picking in Kent. The film within the film presents a fuller version with a different couple, and an emergency sequence ends with the participants dead. The discovery broadens the scope of the mystery.

The fuller footage documents the birth of a government project named Magnificat. The same woman from the original film reappears in a location James recognizes: an official building that has reopened as a cafe. The sequence ends with the woman confronting the cameraman, raising questions about intent.

James suggests the events stem from a hushed-up nuclear accident and that the cafe once housed a secure convalescent unit. He and Sharon decide to keep the film secret and discard the medical records to protect themselves. Their pact marks a turning point in how they handle the revelations.

In London, a cleaner discovers remnants of Magnificat stored in an isolated room. The film is incinerated, but before burning it is transferred to tape, leaving parts of the footage very dark. The cleaner is revealed to be the same woman who had been at the cafe, linking past and present.

The final images show the boxes still being stored in the building where the convalescing took place. It implies the Magnificat project and its secrets persist beneath the surface, awaiting future exposure or destruction. The truth remains suspended, with the files lingering in storage.