Harry Lime finds himself in Barcelona, broke and stranded after a failed con. He stumbles into a traveling circus troupe, where he’s mistaken for a famous trapeze artist who recently vanished under mysterious circumstances. With few options, Lime accepts the role—literally joining the circus.

Harry Lime arrives in Taormina for a holiday, flush with cash and expecting leisure. But his plans unravel the moment he checks into the Santa Monica Hotel, where a Sicilian knife nearly greets him at the door. The assailant? Tony, an old acquaintance and former con artist turned circus clown.

Harry Lime arrives in Tangier expecting a quiet stay, but is immediately mistaken for a British intelligence agent by a woman named Clara, who claims he’s the man she was told to meet. Intrigued—and flattered—Harry plays along, hoping to uncover what kind of operation he’s stumbled into.

Harry Lime is approached by a mysterious gentleman offering him a share in a gold smuggling operation. The pitch? Gold is mined in South Africa and South America, then smuggled east to places like Karachi, Goa, Bombay, Macau, and Hong Kong, where it fetches nearly double the European price.

Harry Lime arrives in Nice, determined to enjoy a few days of luxury before diving into his next scheme. He checks into a lavish hotel, orders champagne, and sets his sights on Yvonne, a glamorous woman with a mysterious past and a taste for expensive jewellery.

Harry Lime boards a train in India, expecting a quiet ride and perhaps a profitable detour. He’s approached by an elderly woman, dressed modestly and claiming to be a missionary raising funds for an orphanage. She asks Harry to help secure a donation of £3,000 from a wealthy young woman named Lady Edith.

Harry Lime returns to Vienna, the city of his infamous demise in The Third Man, though this story is set before that fall. He’s drawn into the orbit of Anna, a florist who sells violets near the opera house. She’s mourning the recent death of her fiancé, Karl, a young composer who supposedly died in a car accident.

Harry Lime is in Tangier, enjoying the perks of his latest con, when he’s approached by Colonel Brackenridge, a retired British officer with a vendetta. The colonel believes Lime is responsible for swindling him out of a rare stamp collection years earlier and wants payback.

Harry Lime is enjoying a quiet drink in a bar in Cristobal when he’s approached by Dolan, a man consumed by jealousy. Dolan is in love with a woman who’s currently involved with Nugent, a suave and secretive figure Dolan suspects of being a traitor to America.

Harry Lime is in Rome, posing as a businessman with a briefcase full of “important documents.” In reality, the case contains $20,000 in counterfeit bills, which Lime plans to swap for real currency through a shady contact.