Abby is awake in her apartment, missing Mitch and the children. Moments later, the Jakl phone rings. It is Noura who asks about the ransom money. Abby says they are working on it. Noura cites Scully’s $2 billion annual billings as proof that raising the money should be easy. When Abby notes the firm has lost offices, Noura warns the losses will continue until the money is delivered. Noura then announces a change in plans; she demands a $10 million deposit by Friday as a sign of “good faith.” Abby says she will inform her husband. Noura promises to send further instructions and a new video of Giovanna to prove she is fine.

The next morning, Jack Ruch convenes the management committee. He informs the nine members of the new deposit demand and reports that Mitch is traveling to Rome to see Luca. After some debate and protests about the impossible demands, Jack proposes they borrow $25 million against their line of credit, the limit of their insurance policy, to pay the deposit and have funds ready. A partner confirms that Citibank is ready but will require personal guarantees from all committee members. After tense discussions, the vote passes seven to two, with two members opposing. The committee is certain that its insurance policy will compensate the firm for the money. 

After the meeting, Jack calls the insurance company for an update. The CEO informs him that the claim has been denied because their policy excludes coverage for acts of terrorism. Their intelligence indicates a terrorist organization, not a criminal gang, is responsible for the kidnapping. Jack threatens a lawsuit, but the CEO says a formal denial memo is already being emailed.

Luca’s condition improves. He attempts to arrange a ransom payment through his friend Carlotti, a reclusive Italian billionaire with influence over the country’s prime minister. Carlotti has agreed to ask for a transfer of $50 million from the Italian treasury to a shell company in Spain. Mitch is uncomfortable with the plan’s questionable legality and Scully’s involvement, thinking about potential repercussions from US prosecutors.

Later, Mitch and Roberto meet again with Diego Antonelli, the deputy minister, at his government office. Antonelli seems displeased and insists the meeting is off the record. According to the proposed deal, the Foreign Service would loan the money to a Luxembourg-registered corporation controlled by one of Carlotti’s sons, with a repayment agreement that is meant to be buried. Antonelli questions whether the plan complies with Italian law. Roberto expresses confidence, but Antonelli says the prime minister’s lawyers will likely disagree. The meeting ends after less than 10 minutes.

Mitch takes a cab to the airport to fly to New York. During the ride, he reflects on their hazardous efforts. The insurance money is gone, the Carlotti deal is likely to fail, and the British government is making no progress.

At dawn on Friday, Mitch and Abby go for a run in Central Park to relax. They recall their running days in Italy, reminiscing about carefree times.

Later in the morning, they meet Jack Ruch, Cory, and Darian at a Citibank office. The bank’s vice president confirms that the $10 million is ready for transfer. Soon, Noura calls Abby on the Jakl phone and emails wiring instructions for a bank account in Panama. Jack authorizes the transfer on behalf of Scully. Eight minutes later, Noura confirms the money has arrived. The vice president tells them the funds are gone and virtually untraceable.

Abby returns to the apartment, texts Noura that she will be away from the phone until Sunday, and slips out through a basement exit. She and Cory are driven to a private airport in New Jersey and fly to Islesboro. Carter and Clark are waiting to see their mother.

Jack gathers the management committee. Mitch informs them about the latest developments, then formally asks the committee to commit the firm’s full resources to guarantee the remaining $90 million for the ransom. The majority protest, unwilling to risk their financial security by guaranteeing such a loan. Mitch reveals he has already signed a personal guarantee, as has Luca, and places both documents on the table. He argues that having the money in the bank provides the certainty they need before the deadline.

Jack asks Mitch to leave so the committee can deliberate. Later, Mitch flies to Maine on a small twin-engine plane. He arrives at Barry Ruch’s estate and is reunited with his family. That evening, Barry tells him Jack is trying to reach him. Mitch calls Jack, who reports that after five hours of debate, the management committee voted five to four against borrowing the money. Jack is disgusted with the outcome and says he has lost friends, while urging for confidentiality on the information. He notes that the colleagues will not publicize the issue and treat Giovanna as another associate to be replaced. Jack pleads with Mitch to call Luca himself.

Mitch’s bad mood is evident to Abby.  He tells her the management committee voted against borrowing the ransom money. Abby is horrified. Mitch calls the partners cowards, more concerned with protecting their assets than rescuing Giovanna, and considers resigning. When Abby asks if he thinks the kidnappers will really harm Giovanna, Mitch says he believes they will and that they will film it. Abby expresses guilt over her own safety compared to Giovanna’s captivity. Mitch again blames himself for the trip to the Gaddafi bridge, but Abby tells him not to waste energy on self-blame.

That evening, the family dines on the deck. Mitch is distracted and quiet during the meal while Abby’s father carries the conversation. After dinner, the McDeeres watch movies in a den. Abby recalls that she and Mitch saw E.T. on their second date. Exhausted from stress, Mitch and Abby doze off on the sofa with their sons curled up between them.

Tanner finds Mitch already working on his laptop at the breakfast table. Mitch confirms he is leaving that morning, and Abby will leave on Sunday. He makes calls to colleagues and learns Luca had another difficult night in the hospital.

Mitch and his colleague Stephen Stodghill have prepared a dossier outlining $50 million in indisputable charges from Lannak’s $410 million claim against Libya. They label it GGBN84, for Great Gaddafi Bridge to Nowhere and their sons’ baseball jersey numbers. 

Mitch, Stephen, Jack, Cory, and Darian meet in Jack’s New York conference room. Mitch presents the plan: offer the Libyans a chance to make a partial settlement of $170 million immediately, hinting it could facilitate Giovanna’s release. When asked about other contributions to the ransom fund, Mitch mentions they are lobbying the British and Italian governments for $25 million each, mentioning a past payment from the British for a hostage in Afghanistan. Cory is surprised at Mitch’s knowledge, and Jack confirms that the insurance company has officially denied their claim, noting that a lawsuit will take years.

The team flies to Rome. That evening, Roberto Maggi meets with Diego Antonelli at a caffè in Rome. Roberto informs him that the illegal Carlotti ransom scheme is off the table due to legal risks. He presents the new plan for a partial settlement of the Lannak claim and gives Antonelli the dossier, asking him to have the prime minister pressure the Libyan ambassador. Antonelli is dismissive but agrees to pass the information to his boss.

The Scully team arrives on Sunday. At a breakfast meeting, Roberto reports that Luca is checking himself out of the hospital. He shares good news: The Italian prime minister has personally pressed the Libyan ambassador for a settlement. Roberto has also heard from Lannak’s legal adviser that the Turkish government is applying similar pressure. He still cautions them about the intentions of Gaddafi’s regime, despite these positive signs.

Back in New York, Abby returns to her apartment, frustrated with the constant security protocols and craving for her normal life. Noura calls her again on the Jakl phone and asks if they have the money. Abby, as planned, replies yes. Noura instructs her to fly to Marrakech, Morocco, that evening. She is to check into La Maison Arabe Hotel and await further instructions. Noura warns Abby to only inform her husband and to travel alone, stating that she will be monitored, threatening that any rescue attempt will result in Giovanna’s immediate death. Terrified, she thinks about her family, her job, and worries about the ransom money. Unable to reach Mitch, Abby books a one-way flight.

In Rome, Luca returns home from the hospital and meets with Mitch, Jack, and Roberto. He demands a full briefing on all developments. Mitch and Jack tell Luca that the Scully management committee refused to borrow the money for the ransom. After a long, quiet moment, Luca says he hopes to live long enough to see his daughter again and to confront his partners, calling them cowards.

Giovanna has lost track of time after about 40 days of captivity. She has been held in constant darkness and moved between various secret locations. She survives under harsh conditions, with minimal food and no bathing facilities. Her only regular contact is a young, silent, veiled female guard.

Giovanna recalls the Gibbons case from law school concerning solitary confinement on death row. She now understands from experience how such confinement is cruel and unusual punishment. The physical deprivations are difficult, but the lack of human contact is the worst. She considers that if freed, she might work for a death penalty lawyer or a prisoners’ rights group.

One day, her young guard arrives with handcuffs, and Giovanna sees moisture in her eyes. Giovanna fears this means her captivity is over and she is about to be executed. She is blindfolded, shrouded, and driven in a vehicle through the desert. She is led out into the heat and forced to climb steep wooden steps. A noose is placed around her neck and tightened.

The perspective shifts to a video recording showing four hooded figures on makeshift gallows. Three of them are the captive Libyan soldiers: Faras, Hamal, and Saleel. They are dropped from the gallows and executed, with shots fired into their chests. Giovanna, identified as Sandroni, stands to the far right. The camera zooms in on her. Seconds pass, then the sound of a chainsaw starts off-camera. The guard behind Giovanna removes her noose and leads her away as the video ends.

On Sunday evening in Rome, Roberto takes the team to dinner at a neighborhood trattoria. During the meal, Mitch receives a call from Abby, who tells him that Noura has ordered her to fly to Marrakech. After discussion, they agree she must go despite Mitch’s worries. Mitch returns to the table and informs the team. Cory volunteers to fly to Marrakech with a nurse to provide security and medical support for Abby and Giovanna. Jack approves Cory’s use of the firm’s private jet.

Roberto receives a call from Diego Antonelli, who reports that a senior Libyan diplomat has been contacted by multiple embassies and confirms that the Libyan government has agreed on a settlement with Lannak. Shortly after, Riley Casey calls from London with similar news from his own sources.

Mitch, Jack, and Roberto meet at the hotel bar to strategize how to convince Lannak to use the settlement money for the ransom. Roberto presses Jack again to ask the management committee for the loan, explaining that Luca feels betrayed and is mortgaging his own property. Jack says he is not optimistic about changing the committee’s mind and expresses his regret.

Abby waits in the British Airways lounge at JFK, looking for anyone who might be watching her. She recalls her travels with Mitch and feels relieved that her children are safe. During her three-hour layover at Gatwick Airport in London, she notices a North African man in a white linen suit repeatedly glancing at her and assumes he is one of her “monitors.”

Samir meets Mitch and Roberto in Rome with good news. His source in Tripoli confirms the Libyan government has decided to quickly settle the entire Lannak dispute. The positive atmosphere is shattered when the video of the Libyan soldiers’ execution is released to international newspapers and goes viral. Mitch, Jack, Roberto, and Darian watch the video and see the three Libyan soldiers executed by hanging and then shot. Giovanna has a noose around her neck before being spared at the last moment. 

Mitch realizes the video will enrage the Libyan government and end any chance of a settlement. The team begins working their phones. Libyan diplomats have been reluctant to talk over the weekend, losing interest in the lawsuit. Darian learns that Gaddafi has unleashed his air force, bombing suspected targets near the borders of Chad and Algeria. Sir Simon calls from London, suggesting the video was a masterful move that will pressure the British government to pay. Riley Casey calls to report that he has been called to a meeting with the British prime minister. Jack calls Senator Elias Lake in the US to ask him to pressure the Secretary of State.

Abby arrives in Marrakech and takes a taxi to La Maison Arabe Hotel. She finds a suite reserved for her for three nights. A bellman delivers a letter inviting her to dinner with Hassan, a friend of Noura. She calls Mitch, who updates her on the day’s events, including the horrifying video. He tells her Cory is also on the way to Marrakech, which relieves her.

That evening, Abby meets Hassan Mansour in the hotel restaurant. He is about 50, charming but evasive. He tells Abby he is only paid to seal a deal and is not a member of the terrorist organization. Abby requests an extension to the deadline, but he refuses. When he asks if she has the money, she confidently says yes, but adds that gathering it will take a day or two. Hassan provides the final instructions: Mitch must fly to Grand Cayman, a place he knows well, and meet a banker named Solomon Frick at Trinidad Trust, who will handle the transfer. Hassan warns that any attempt to involve law enforcement will result in Giovanna’s death. He hands Abby a paper with detailed instructions and reveals that he knows Mitch is currently in Rome with access to a private jet.