High Risk (1981) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The four friends were struggling during a period of sluggish economy and high unemployment. They needed money badly and chose to raid the Colombian drug lord's compound as a way to get quick cash. The fishing trip was just a cover for planning the heist.

• Stone
• Serrano
• robbery
• motivation
• money

When Serrano's forces closed in, Stone and Dan were pursued through the jungle on foot. They managed to escape their pursuers by leaping from a very high rope bridge, using the dangerous crossing to outdistance the heavily armed mercenaries who couldn't follow as easily.

• rope bridge
• escape
• Stone
• Dan
• pursuit

Tony and Rockney were captured during the pursuit when Serrano's men and local military forces closed in with all-terrain vehicles and mounted troops. While Stone and Dan managed to reach the rope bridge in time, Tony and Rockney were surrounded and taken prisoner.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, the group celebrates their success unaware that a rebel tracker was watching their every move, foreshadowing their capture.

• Tony
• Rockney
• captured
• Serrano
• pursuit

Olivia is a prisoner held in the cell next to Tony and Rockney at Serrano's prison. She insists she was falsely arrested and becomes involved in helping the group escape. She joins Tony, Rockney, and later Stone and Dan at the bus station as they head toward the rendezvous point.

• Olivia
• prison
• false arrest
• escape

Tony bribed a passing child with money to pull out the barred window using a tow truck. The child then demanded their clothes as payment, forcing Tony and Rockney to flee through the town nearly naked. They lost their pursuers by hiding in a bordello and then disguised themselves in women's clothes to reach the bus station.

• prison escape
• Tony
• Rockney
• bordello
• disguises

Serrano's men captured Tony and Rockney and needed to know where the five million dollars was hidden. They tortured Rockney to force Tony to reveal the money's location, knowing Stone had his share and calculating they'd have better odds of survival if they moved into the open with the cash.

• Serrano
• torture
• Rockney
• money
• five million

After stealing five million dollars from Serrano's safe, the group buried or hid the money. When Tony was captured, Serrano's men forced him to reveal the location. Later, Dan and Stone were captured by General Mariano who wanted the money for himself. They escaped and fought through the night to reclaim the cash from the rebels.

• five million
• money
• Serrano
• Mariano
• rebels

The team successfully boards the retrieval plane at the airstrip after a three-way gun battle between their team, Serrano's mercenaries, and the rebels. As they celebrate their escape with the money, the engine stalls just as the plane lifts off, leaving their fate uncertain and creating the movie's ambiguous ending.

• plane
• engine stall
• ending
• escape
• ambiguous

General Mariano is a local rebel commander who captures Dan and Stone after their escape from Serrano's pursuit. He intends to claim the stolen five million dollars for himself and his rebel forces. Dan and Stone must fight their way through Mariano's rebels to reclaim the cash.

• General Mariano
• rebels
• money
• capture
• Anthony Quinn

Serrano's mercenaries reached the airstrip first, but the rebel forces also arrived, creating a three-way gun battle. The retrieval plane finally arrived and provided covering fire, allowing the team to board in a frantic rush. The rebels were overwhelmed, and the team escaped with the money while Serrano's forces were defeated.

• airstrip
• gun battle
• rebels
• Serrano
• plane

At the rendezvous point, the rebels pursued Dan and Stone and caught up with them. While trying to protect Stone during the firefight, Tony was shot. Believing Tony to be dead, the remaining trio pressed on toward the airstrip, though Tony was later revealed to have survived.

• Tony
• shot
• rendezvous
• rebels
• wounded