In Dubai, Rosie and Steve meet Max Highfield during a bizarre promotional photo shoot in which Max lies on a rug covered in diamonds. Rosie, pretending to pitch a film, gives Max a role named Blake Scott while Steve introduces himself as the producer. Max is immediately self-absorbed and difficult, focusing on image, billing and character details rather than the substance of the idea.

Rosie begins describing a story about a money-smuggling syndicate that uses influencers to carry cash around the world. Steve confirms that the scheme is illegal, but Max shows no sign of recognizing the setup as something connected to him. Instead, Max complains about playing a villain, rejects "nuance," and keeps steering the conversation back to himself and his preferences.

The meeting is interrupted when Abby, Max's bodyguard and tech aide, announces that she has hacked into security cameras at the Hampstead Dog Hotel so Max can watch his dogs. Max becomes emotional over the footage, then returns to the pitch. Steve adds that the influencer couriers in the story are shot one by one, and Max casually says that something similar happened to his friend Jeff Nolan, yet he still treats the whole discussion as possible movie material rather than as a threat.

Rosie and Steve continue testing Max by mentioning locations tied to the real case, including South Carolina, St Lucia, Ireland and Dubai. Max remains relaxed and enthusiastic, agreeing to the project as long as his character is rewritten as a hero who kills the villain. When Rosie suggests François Loubet as a possible bad guy, Max only vaguely recognizes the name and shows no meaningful reaction.

After Max goes onstage, Rosie tells Steve that Max never showed even a flicker of recognition during the entire pitch. Steve realizes that either Max is completely uninvolved or he is an exceptionally good actor. Rosie makes clear that she does not believe the second option, so their working assumption that Max is Joe Blow is badly undermined and the identity of the real mastermind remains unresolved.