- A magician is killed during the filming of a highly risky magic trick. Tony takes on both the investigation and his friend's place in recreating the Table of Death illusion for the cameras.
- Tony is on set of "Millennium 12", a Braden International studios picture, when Harry Ingram, a fellow magician, is critically injured performing what was supposed to be death defying stunt, escaping from the table of death. The stunt was developed between Tony and Harry, and performed by Harry thousands of times without incident. This accident is only the latest in a jinx-ridden shoot thus far, this picture which is supposed to be the studio's saving grace from potential financial ruin and resulting shut-down. Max Braden, Marian Tripp, and Brooks Rosenthal - the longtime studio head/longtime friend of Tony's, the new studio financial controller, and the film's director, respectively - each have their own concerns about what happens now. Max is most concerned about Harry's well-being and showing sensitivity in the situation. Brooks wants to know what Max wants to do about the creative aspects of the picture, specifically concerning the magic sequence. And Marian wants to know how they can continue as is without losing money on what has already been shot, meaning keeping the magic sequence but replacing Harry as the magician escaping from the table of death, the suggestion being that Tony be that magician. Tony agrees as the only other person who knows the secret behind the feat, and as he knows someone rigged the failure of the stunt, probably to ruin the studio. Tony believes the inside man is Jack Quinn, the film's special effects man. Tony has to figure out who Quinn is working for and why they want to see the studio fail, or else Tony may befall the same fate as Harry.—Huggo
- At Braden International, a production crew is filming the performance of a spike cabinet illusion, "The Table of Death ", by magician Harry Ingram for a film 'Millennium 12'. Tony is in the wings looking on as a crew drop the spikes to demonstrate the danger. They pull the spikes back up, and Harry has his two female assistants shackle him into a cabinet beneath the spikes. Harry explains that he will have twenty seconds to escape before sand empties out of a container, causing the spikes to fall. He's gagged so that he can't call for help if something goes wrong.
The timer on the sand begins and the assistant draw a curtain on the cabinet. Harry removes a hidden lock pick and work on the shackles and releases one hand. The guillotine the sand is attached to comes down after 20 seconds, and blood drips out of the bottom of the cabinet. Tony runs over, sees his friend badly injured, and calls for an ambulance. The special effects coordinator, Jack Quinn, watches from the catwalk above.
Later, an assistant tells studio producer Max Braden that there's an accident at the stage and Harry might die. Braden takes his limo to the studio and arrives there after the ambulance. Tony and director Brooks Rosenthal look on as the ambulance leaves, and Rosenthal tells Braden that they don't know if Harry will live. Marian Tripp arrives and tells Braden that she's notified the insurance company and Harry's wife Braden tells Rosenthal to go home rather than get some other takes for the movie they were filming, and Marian tells him that he can't sacrifice half a day's work because of an accident. Braden angrily says that he can want to and entire film has been a jinx, and says that missing a half day of filming won't hit. Maran says that Harry would want the film to continue, but Braden tells Rosenthal to stop the production and Rosenthal sends his crew home for the rest of the day.
Marian continues complaining, and Braden introduces her to Tony as the "financial watchdog". The producer leaves, and the next day Tony watches the film of the illusion with Braden, Rosenthal, and Marian. Meanwhile, Quinn approaches the projectionist, says that he's the special effects coordinator on the film, and asks if he can take a look at the footage.
Once the film ends, Braden asks Tony what went wrong. Tony doesn't know and asks to see the film a few more times, and Braden agrees. Rosenthal asks if they'll be dropping the illusion from the film, and the producer figures they won't have a choice without doing extensive reshoots. Once Rosenthal leaves, Marian asks Tony if he could do the illusion if the opportunity presents itself. Meanwhile, Braden tells the projectionist to run the film as many times as Tony wants.002
Braden and Marian leave the building, and Braden insists that jinxes are real. Marian points out that they're fourteen days behind schedule, and the New York board of directors want him to stop dragging his feet. She points out that if the film fails, the company ceases to exist. Braden walks off without a word.
In the screening theater, Tony times the illusion on a stopwatch as Quinn takes over and runs the film. Tony determines that the guillotine went off five seconds early, and reviews the footage again. Quinn sees what he's doing and goes to a phone, and calls Neil Houser. He tells Houser that Tony found out the illusion was rigged, and they'll have to deal with him.
Braden and Miriam go to the hospital to visit Harry. Tony and Dominick are there and see them come in, and Tony tells them that Harry died twenty minutes ago. Braden says that he'll never forgive himself, and Tony tells him that Harry did the trick over a thousand times. The producer insists on paying for the funeral, and Miriam asks again if Tony will do the illusion. Braden says that they probably won't reshoot, and if they do then they won't do it with Tony. Tony says that it will have to be because he developed the illusion with Harry, and there's no one else who could do it.
Braden talks to Tony privately and points out that their fathers worked in vaudeville together. He insists that he won't let Tony risk his life on a foolish movie, but Tony points out that if the film fails, the studio will fail as well. Braden says that it doesn't make a difference, and he got rid of his competitive desires with age. Tony insists on helping him and says that it goes deeper, and Harry was murdered and that's personal to him.
Later, Tony drives to the studio and finds Quinn examines the Table of Death. They introduce themselves and Quinn says that he was trying to figure out how the illusion works. Tony points out that the special effects men can cut the camera anytime they want, and magicians don't have the same advantage. Quinn asks if Tony can fill him in on the accident so he can prevent it from happening again, and Tony says that all he knows is that it takes perfect timing. He sees the broken sand timing device and sand on the stairs leading up to the illusion, and Quinn dismisses it as a common accident.
Tony takes the neck of the timing device with him and shows it to Dominick, and points out that someone enlarged the funnel so that the sand would flow faster. He says that Harry died because he didn't have enough time, and someone tampered with the timing mechanism to prevent Harry from having the fully twenty seconds. Then someone broke the funnel in case someone investigated. Dominick points out that Tony is crazy for doing the same illusion, and Tony asks him to find out everything about Quinn. Meanwhile, he goes to get another glass funnel for the timer.
The next day at the stage set, Tony checks the timing device as Dominick looks on. They reset the spikes, and Braden and Miriam arrive. They begin filming and Quinn watches from the catwalk as the assistant shackle Tony to the table. Dominick times the timer. The spikes come down after twenty seconds, and the assistants remove the curtain to reveal Tony laying casually on top of the spike platform. Tony stands up and takes a bow, and the crew applauds.
Tony goes over to Dominick and accepts his congratulations, and he tells Dominick that someone removed the lock pick. However, he carried a spare one on him.
At a high-rise being built by Bestway Construction, Houser's firm, Braden complains to Houser and Quinn that he had no idea they were going to try and kill Tony. The only reason Tony is still alive is because he outsmarted them. Quinn figures that Tony had another lock pick hidden and he did everything he was supposed to, and Houser reminds Braden that he was involved in a murder. He says that Braden had better help them with another murder because they're all committed. Houser tells Braden that he probably prefers his estate to a convalescence home, and figures Braden is a long way from letting go.
That night at the Castle, Tony performs his routine. Afterward, Tony sit down at a table with Miriam and she says that she gets no pleasure from stepping on Braden's toes. Tony wonders what she thinks of the movie's prospects, and figures that they're overbudget because of accidents and delays. He asks if there's another motion picture company waiting to take over if Braden International goes broke, and Miriam says that the only people with enough capital are large land developers, and Houser is the one interested.
Later, Tony has Dominick find out everything he can about Houser and Bestway. Houser has submitted a bid on the land the Braden movie lot is standing on.
The next day at Bestway, Dominick barges in posing as a producer of posters of movie classic. He tells Houser that he knows Houser is preparing construction of a high-rise on the Braden lot. Houser says that they've shifted their project to a new location in Santa Monica and has his secretary, Miss King give him the phone number of their real estate broker. Dominick tells Tony what Houser told him, and Tony confirms the story in the newspaper. The owner tells Tony that he found out something about Quinn but doesn't know how to tell his friend about it.
Later, Quinn drives to a restaurant and goes inside. Dominick pulls up in a van, parks nearby, and watches as Braden arrives in his limo and goes into the restaurant. Tony pulls up and gets into the van, and Dominick tells him that Quinn and Braden are inside. They watch as Houser arrives and goes into the restaurant. Tony says that Braden wants a new illusion for his film and Tony is going to give him one.
The crew gathers at a pool and Tony prepares to do a safe escape. Braden arrives and Tony says that the producer can stop the illusion. Braden says that he can't because of the financial repercussions, and Miriam tells Tony to be careful. Once the cameras are rolling, Tony introduces R.J. Fellows, the man who manufactured the safe. Fellows says that the no one has tampered with safe, and he's the only person who knows the combination.
Fellows locks Tony in the safe, and a crane lowers the safe into the pool. If Tony doesn't escape in two minutes, they will lift the safe out of the pool and Fellows will release Tony. Tony doesn't escape in two minutes, and the crew discovers the hook has been detached from the safe. Divers standing by reattach the hook, and Fellows opens the safe once it's out of the water. Tony has disappeared from inside the safe, and Tony goes to the crane and handcuffs Quinn's ankle to the floor.
Later in the screening theater, Tony gives a presentation of footage he's put together, to Braden, Miriam, Dominick, and Rosenthal. He had two cameras of his own hidden around the pool, and says that there was a plate inside the safe that he removed using a screwdriver he had hidden on him. Tony then reversed his tank top to one matching the ones that the divers were wearing. When the divers jumped in to reattach the hook, Tony blended in with them wearing a hidden wig and face mask, and "disappeared'. Tony discovered that someone had released the crane hook.
Dominick, standing by as a diver, went into the dressing room instead of the pool and soaked himself using a shower. Tony switched with Dominick, went out the back door of a nearby cabana, and captured Quinn. Tony says that Quinn led the police to Houser, and Tony shows additional footage of Quinn meeting with Braden before the pool escape. He figures that Braden had some last-minute reservations, and says that no one knew that Braden was on the edge of financial ruin.
Braden admits that he's guilty, and he regrets that a man died and he didn't have the human decency to come forward and admits his complicity in Harry's death. He let himself become involved in the potential murder of Tony, and loves Tony as if he were his own son.
Later, Tony and Miriam have drinks in Tony's apartment. Tony says that Braden couldn't bear the thought of living out the rest of his life without comfort and security, and those things became so important to him that he lost all sense of reason. They both admit their regrets, and they walk off together.
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