ESCAPE FROM IRAN: THE HOLLYWOOD OPTION documents an extraordinary rescue operation. On November 4, 1979, militant students seized the American Embassy in Tehran, Iran. Sixty-six Americans were taken prisoner, but in the midst of the chaos, six American embassy workers eluded the students. Temporarily free, they quickly found themselves stranded in a hostile country gripped by revolutionary fervor. The desperate Americans took refuge in the home of Ken Taylor, Canada's Ambassador to Iran and Taylor quickly found himself, his staff, and his family swept into a realm of political maneuverings and international intrigue, forged passports and secret agents. Aided by the Canadian government at the highest levels, CIA agent Antonio Mendez formulated a plan to exfiltrate the six American Embassy staff members from the country. He created a phony film production company called Studio Six and disguised the six houseguests as Hollywood executives in an effort to smuggle them out of Iran in plain sight.