Alex Faulkner [Edward Fox] leads a fifty-strong mercenary unit on a daring mission to rescue the deposed President Julius Limbani. The plan appears to work at first, but the operation soon starts to unravel as the team is exposed, strafed, and napalmed by an enemy aircraft. With only a few men left, Faulkner tries to steer a desperate escape in an old Dakota airliner. His closest ally, Rafer Janders, is left behind when he’s wounded and cannot reach the taxiing plane; as the mob closes in, Janders, urged by Faulkner, makes a final request, and Faulkner reluctantly ends his comrade’s life.
In a parallel thread, Rudolf Hess, the last surviving Nazi leader in captivity, possesses secrets that could topple powerful political figures. A global news network is prepared to pay any price to obtain those secrets, setting the stage for a dangerous confrontation between espionage, media, and state interests. [Laurence Olivier] plays Hess, bringing a layered aura to a man who carries regrets as heavy as the wars he helped ignite.
As Alex Faulkner arrives for a meeting, Robert McCann argues with Michael Lukas about the delay of the planned Hess rescue. The tension between urgent geopolitics and the moral costs of intervention threads through the room, painting a picture of calculated risk. The discussions lead to a pivotal decision: Kathy Lukas [Barbara Carrera] and Michael Lukas want Hess freed, but Faulkner declines to spearhead it; instead, he recommends a different candidate, John Haddad.
John Haddad [Scott Glenn], a Lebanese-American mercenary who has dodged Palestinian hitmen in London, becomes central to the scheme. He arrives in Bavaria to map out a plan with Kathy and her allies, avoiding interference from Stroebling. Haddad’s reconnaissance grows into a full infiltration plan as he bonds with Kathy, and their uneasy alliance deepens into something more personal, even as the danger around them intensifies.
Haddad travels to West Berlin and begins his careful reconnaissance of Spandau Prison. He studies guard towers, patrol timings, and the prison’s interior geography, drafting a precise exterior plan before making his move. He is soon abducted by Stroebling, a Nazi working for the Soviet side, and his captors attempt to extract details about the mission. Haddad overpowers his captors and escapes, rolling into the street just as the police arrive. He survives and continues to wrestle with the perilous balance of loyalties as he recovers in hospital, where Colonel Reed-Henry [Kenneth Haigh] questions him but offers little reassurance, and Haddad ultimately presses on with Kathy.
Back in Bavaria, Haddad joins forces with Faulkner to pursue the rescue, and a romance blossoms between Haddad and Kathy. The two return to West Berlin with the hope of enlisting the support of Reed-Henry, who argues that Hess’s fate could alter Cold War calculations. Reed-Henry’s involvement promises official backing, while Stroebling’s men close in, forcing Faulkner to act and to heighten the tension with bold moves. Faulkner’s effectiveness is tested again and again as the rescue plan evolves under pressure from all sides.
To strengthen their chances, Haddad negotiates with Regimental Sergeant Major James Murphy [Derek Thompson], a former prison warden who knows Spandau’s routines. Murphy’s guidance helps the team pose as British Royal Military Police, while Murphy himself hints at his own era’s shadowy choices. The group then brings in extra muscle: Kathy’s brother joins the operation, and Lebanese mercenaries Joseph [David Lumsden] and Jamil [Frederick Warder] contribute their unique skills. An Irish connection surfaces when Hourigan [Derek Thompson]—an old associate of Murphy—joins the operation, though his presence ends in tragedy when a deadly confrontation leads to murder and hard choices.
As the plan is refined, Mustapha El Ali [Stratford Johns] and his men provide additional support, and the roster expands to include an exotic mix of allies. The ever-imposing Stroebling [Robert Freitag] offers a grim bargain: he will drop the threat on Haddad if Hess is handed over and Faulkner is killed. Haddad refuses, and the plan remains a three-way contest for Hess’s fate: the network’s ambitions, Reed-Henry’s allegiances, and Stroebling’s merciless calculations.
A staged traffic accident becomes a crucial turning point when Pierre [Malcolm Jamieson], a fairground wall-of-death rider, is enlisted to perform the crash as a distraction. The rescue operation tightens as Kathy is captured by Stroebling’s gang and Haddad agrees to let Hourigan join the effort to secure her safety. The final assembly includes a broader team: Joseph, Jamil, and Mustapha El Ali, plus Michael as a fleeting insurance, while [Billy Boyle]’s Devenish and others provide tactical support.
The rescue culminates in a dramatic sequence: Hess is sedated, swapped with a decoy corpse, and loaded into a waiting jeep. Reed-Henry makes a move to intercept Hess at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial, only to discover that Hess has been duped into a trap involving Stroebling. Kathy, Haddad, and Faulkner smuggle Hess to a football stadium-turned-exit point, and then together with an Austrian crowd, they slip to an East German airport en route to Vienna. A tense pursuit ends when a curious East German customs officer is killed, clearing the path for their escape. Reed-Henry confesses to his Russian superiors that Hess has escaped, then accepts execution by his own pistol.
In Vienna, Hess reflects on his choices and the weight of history. He overhears Kathy talking to McCann about the rescue and Michael’s death, and, for the first time, voices his reluctance to join modern society. He admits regrets about the millions who died and asks for a different fate. Haddad and Faulkner urge him to embrace freedom, but Hess, resolute about returning to Spandau, chooses to do so. The trio escorts Hess to the French embassy where he voluntarily surrenders, and a newspaper in the following days reports a false rumor of Hess’s escape, leaving a quiet but poignant coda to a mission defined by moral ambiguity, political theater, and the high cost of action in a world where power and memory intersect.
