 An elderly cardinal has been taken prisoner by an Eastern European country because the clergyman is a leader of the political opposition. He is being held in a prison where no escape has ever occurred. Briggs recruits an old flame who is also a trapeze artist. She accompanies Briggs and the IMF, who pose as a small circus. The "circus" has set up in a park that is next to the prison. Rollin, posing as a member of the circus, is arrested after stealing the wallet of an audience member. Rollis is taken to the prison has manages to smuggle in a lock-pick that enables him to exit his cell. The IMF operative manages to get to the cardinal to warm him to expect an escape attempt, with the circus providing a distraction. But, as the escape attempt unfolds, the cardinal is gone from his cell -- he has been taken to solitary confinement and will be executed within a day or two.