As opposed to a more naturalistic mode of acting and dialogue in his earlier videos, Charlesworth conceived Dateline for Danger as grand opera. It is what overwrought television melodrama might be within the broader context of his work, much like the use of prop paintings and sculptures in the stylized worlds of the installations Wrong Adventures and Abstraction.

The story line follows the undercover police commando/test pilot Rafe as he tracks down the charming, murderous gangster Vago – the video's narrator.