Cash on Demand

It's December 23rd, and the staff at the small Haversham Branch of the City & Colonial Bank are preparing for their Christmas party tonight. One person who won't be attending is Harry Fordyce, the fifteen year branch manager, a stern, humorless, by-the-books man who does not associate with his subordinates and who will not allow his staff to adorn the branch with any Christmas related items. Rather than authorize the requested transfer by his head clerk Pearson to another branch, Fordyce is thinking about firing him for a £10 discrepancy which Pearson authorized but which was cleared up before Fordyce saw the error. If fired, Pearson would never be able to get another position at another bank. That morning as the branch opens, they receive an unexpected visit by Colonel Gore Hepburn, who represents the bank's insurance company, he who is doing a surprise inspection. What Fordyce alone learns early in Hepburn's visit is that he is not who he says he is, but rather a robber who has a detailed plan to rob the branch of £90,000. The plot entails Hepburn spending exactly 45 minutes at the branch, and a further one hour getaway during which time Fordyce is not to tell anyone, including the police, of the robbery. Hepburn has Fordyce's wife and son as hostages at his home to get him to go along with the plot. As the morning wears on and as Fordyce follows Hepburn's unbending instructions "or else", Fordyce may have some issue carrying out those instructions because of the strained relationship he has with his staff.