Book excerpt: The first four films from the spy franchise starring Tom Cruise as a special agent. In 'Mission Impossible' (1996) Ethan Hunt (Cruise), an IMF (Impossible Mission Force) agent, is hunted by his own organisation after a mission in Prague goes wrong. Going to ground, Hunt enlists the help of two discredited agents to track down the real villain of the piece, a quest that takes him to the heart of CIA operations. In 'Mission Impossible 2' (2000), Impossible Missions Force's Ethan Hunt is charged with tracking down renegade fellow agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott), who has stolen the only known supply of Bellophron - the antidote to man-made virus Chimera. Ethan enlists the help of Ambrose's ex-girlfriend, Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie Newton), and, although the pair have fallen in love, Nyah agrees to return to Ambrose in order to gain information. However, Ambrose now intends to trigger off an epidemic of Chimera in order to sell Bellophron to the highest bidder and when he becomes suspicious of Nyah decides to use her as a guinea pig. In 'Mission Impossible 3' (2006), Hunt confronts the toughest villain he's ever faced - Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an international weapons and information provider with no remorse and no conscience. Hunt assembles his team, his old friend Luther Strickell (Ving Rhames), transportation expert Declan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), background operative Zhen (Maggie Q) and fresh recruit Lindsey (Keri Russell) - to travel the globe pursuing Davian and rescue Hunt's love, Julia (Michelle Monaghan). In 'Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol' (2011), when the Kremlin is bombed by terrorists, the IMF is implicated and all its team members instantaneously disavowed by the United States government. Hunt and his new team must go rogue to clear the IMF's name - but are warned that if any one of them is captured during their mission they will be charged as terrorists plotting to incite global nuclear war. Hunt seeks the help of an enigmatic former IMF agent, Brandt (Jeremy Renner), and is surprised to learn how much the shadowy figure knows about his past.