Burly private investigator/Vietnam vet Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) is sent on a daring commando raid by his sometime client/landlord Robin Masters to rescue Katrina Tremaine (Ann Dusenberry) from the elegant Sicilian villa of a highly dangerous playboy marquis/mafioso (Jean Claudio).
How Katrina - daughter of a dear friend of Robin's, found herself in the clutches of a low-level nobleman with mafia ties is never properly explained. It seems like the plot was gleaned from a cheap paperback romance novel but it is depicted nicely.
Swiftly but with considerable difficulty and threat to life and limb Magnum extracts the lovely and quirky socialite from her captivity and brings her to Robin Masters luxurious Hawaiian estate via Masters' private jet.
Plagued by jet-lag and drained by the high adrenaline raid Magnum sleeps it off in the guest-house flat on the estate. He is thus ill-equipped to deal with Margo Perina (Mimi Rogers) - his neglected girlfriend who wants to know why he stood her up.
Determined to set things right with Margo, Magnum is distracted from an impending menace. It turns out that the mafioso and his goons have regrouped and traveled to the island. Katrina is almost certainly in danger as is Magnum. But an entirely unforeseen complication makes the situation dangerous for others in proximity too.
Not a bad episode in the series. We still don't get a detailed enough explanation of why Magnum gets to mooch off Robin the way he does. But we see him do something that substantially justifies at least some of it.
Ann Dusenberry should have had a more successful career in Hollywood. A versatile actress, we see examples of the seamless transitions she could pull off in delivering a multi-layered performance. For whatever reason she never quite got that big break that would have made all the difference.
Mimi Rogers, appearing here in one of her first screen roles, of course did get those big breaks and was a motion picture leading lady within five years of this episode's airing.
Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Mark Tuinei has a cameo.