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It's November 4th, 1979, at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, the capital of Iran.

In a small office building close to the main gates of the compound, Barry Rosen, the embassy's 35-year-old press attache, hunches over a typewriter at his desk.

He's writing a report on the political situation in Iran for his superiors back in Washington.

But it's not easy to summarize such a complicated situation in just a few hundred words.

Frustrated, Barry leans back in his chair, rubbing his eyes.

That's when he notices the jeering of protesters outside.

Barry gets up from his desk and goes through a door that leaves to the outer office.

His secretary, Mary, is standing by the window, staring out her arms clasped around herself.

Barry joins her at her side. They're used to witnessing anti-American protests outside the embassy, but this one is different. The crowd is much

larger, full of young Iranian college students who surround the main entrance. Mary cries out as

one young man scales the gate and jumps down into the grounds of the embassy.

A U.S. Marine runs after him, tackling him to the ground.

But the young protesters quickly followed over the walls by several more young men.

Soon, there are too many protesters for the American guards to stop.

The growing mob swarms toward the nearest building, Barry Rosen's office block.

Barry turns away from the window and hurries across the room. He locks the outer door to the office

and tells Mary not to open it for anyone. Then Barry runs back to his office. He halls open the drawers

of his desk and cabinets, searching through his files for

...