The Saint (1997) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Simon agrees because after stealing a microchip from Tretiak's oil company rally, Tretiak offers him a lucrative job: steal the cold fusion formula from Emma Russell. Tretiak's offer is compelling because it pays well, and Simon believes he can complete the job and get paid without complications. However, Tretiak secretly plans to murder Simon after obtaining the formula to keep all the money and power for himself.

• ivan tretiak
• job offer
• microchip theft
• simon templar motivation

Simon uses the alias Thomas More and poses as a Boer trader to get close to Emma at Oxford. He seduces her over several days, gaining her trust. After spending a night with her, he searches her apartment and discovers the formula written on her computer. He copies it and leaves, but returns when he realizes the formula is incomplete.

• thomas more alias
• oxford
• seduction
• formula theft
• emma russell

Simon begins to develop genuine feelings for Emma during his time posing as Thomas More. He finds himself torn between completing his assignment for Tretiak and protecting Emma from harm. This emotional conflict causes him to delay the theft, but Tretiak threatens to kidnap Emma, forcing Simon to go through with the theft after a one-night stand.

• emotional conflict
• thomas more
• hesitation
• betrayal
• feelings for emma

Tretiak's actual scheme goes far beyond profiting from clean energy. He plans to sell an incomplete version of the formula to Russian President Karpov, making it appear as if Karpov wasted billions on useless technology. This political scandal would allow Tretiak to seize power and become president himself. Additionally, Tretiak had deliberately caused Russia's oil shortage by hoarding fuel beneath his mansion, creating the crisis he would solve.

• tretiak conspiracy
• president karpov
• power grab
• oil shortage hoax
• political fraud

After being captured at a Moscow hotel by Tretiak's henchmen, Simon and Emma escape with help from a local prostitute and her family who shelter them. A character named Frankie then guides them through the city's sewers toward the U.S. embassy. When Ilya and his men intercept them outside the city, Simon sacrifices his own safety by letting himself be captured to ensure Emma reaches the embassy first.

• moscow hotel capture
• prostitute family
• frankie
• sewer escape
• embassy

After escaping Tretiak's assassination attempt, Simon returns to Russia and infiltrates Tretiak's offices disguised as Tretiak himself. This bold ruse allows him to confront his subordinates and press his claim for payment for the stolen microchip. By impersonating Tretiak, Simon gains access and attempts to get what he is owed while keeping Emma's situation secret from Tretiak's men.

• disguise
• trebiak offices
• payment demand
• infiltration
• bold move

Ilya Tretiak is arrested along with his father Ivan at the climax in Red Square. Earlier, when Simon was facilitating Emma's escape to the U.S. embassy, Ilya confronted them and Simon lit a car's gas tank as a distraction, causing an explosion that badly burned Ilya. He survives but is ultimately captured along with his father when their conspiracy is exposed.

• ilya tretiak
• arrest
• burned
• car explosion
• red square

Simon uses the money he stole from Tretiak's accounts to anonymously donate three billion dollars to the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and UNICEF. He also helps establish a non-profit foundation led by Dr. Lev Botvin to develop the cold fusion technology for the benefit of humanity. By remaining anonymous, Simon allows Emma to take credit for the breakthrough while still using his stolen fortune for good, completing his arc from thief to benefactor.

• anonymous donation
• three billion
• charities
• botvin foundation
• redemption arc

Dr. Lev Botvin builds a working cold fusion reactor using the complete formula that Emma finishes. At the climactic Red Square gathering, Botvin activates the reactor and demonstrates that the formula actually works. This proves Tretiak's claim that the formula was useless was a lie, exposing Tretiak's conspiracy to frame President Karpov and seize power through a manufactured political scandal.

• botvin reactor
• cold fusion demonstration
• proof
• red square expose
• formula works

As a boy at Saint Ignatius Orphanage, Simon (then known as John Rossi) led a group of orphans in an escape attempt. He tried to say goodbye to a girl named Agnes with a kiss, but they were caught during their escape. Agnes fell from a balcony and died in the accident. This traumatic event haunts Simon throughout his adult life, shaping his reluctance to form emotional connections and his sense of guilt.

Foreshadowing: The opening scene establishes Simon's pattern of using saints' names as aliases, beginning with his self-given name Simon Templar.

• agnes
• orphanage
• childhood trauma
• escape attempt
• guilt

Tretiak threatens to kidnap Emma when he learns that Simon has developed feelings for her and is hesitating to complete the theft. By threatening Emma's safety, Tretiak manipulates Simon into going through with the theft, using Emma as leverage against Simon's emotional vulnerability. This forces Simon's hand and ensures he obtains the formula, albeit in an incomplete form at first.

• threaten kidnap
• emma russell
• leverage
• simon emotional manipulation

Simon plants a listening device in Tretiak's office, which allows him to overhear Tretiak's conversation about his true plan. Through this bug, Simon learns that Tretiak intends to sell the incomplete formula to President Karpov and frame him for wasting billions, using the scandal to become president. This discovery reveals the full scope of Tretiak's political conspiracy beyond simple profit motives.

• listening device
• bug
• tretiak office
• conspiracy discovery
• political plot