Set against the backdrop of 1920s Edinburgh, this atmospheric drama from director Gillian Armstrong follows the legendary illusionist Harry Houdini, portrayed by Guy Pearce, as he embarks on a tour debunking fraudulent mediums. Offering a substantial reward to anyone who can genuinely contact his deceased mother, Houdini attracts the attention of a cunning con artist named Mary McGarvie, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, and her young daughter Benji, portrayed by a young Saoirse Ronan. Mary, a skilled psychic charlatan, sees the prize as her ticket to a new life and devises an elaborate scheme to deceive the master of deception. As she and her daughter draw closer to Houdini, the line between performance and reality begins to blur, and Mary finds herself increasingly entangled in a dangerous game of wits and unexpected emotion. Blending romance, thriller, and drama, Death Defying Acts explores the thin veil between faith and fraud, leaving audiences questioning what is real and what is merely an act.