Pass pleas around and fail (8)
I believe the answer is:
collapse
'fail' is the definition.
(I know that collapse is a type of fail)
'pass pleas around' is the wordplay.
'pass' becomes 'col' (col is a term for a mountain pass).
'around' is an anagram indicator.
'pleas' with letters rearranged gives 'lapse'.
'col'+'lapse'='COLLAPSE'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for collapse that I've seen before include "Sudden fall" , "Fall down or lose strength suddenly" , "Disintegration" , "Founder" , "Break-down or complete failure" .)