NASA and the Soviet-Russian space agency prepare for another mission to the permanent space station. Captain J.J. "Jim" Hendricks, a highly experienced pilot, is rejected from command after refusing to justify a private plane crash. He threatens to resign, and the Russians are preoccupied with a military operation in Tadjikistan, where Captain Previ Federov is from. Federov seizes the space station, bringing nuclear arms and issuing an ultimatum: withdraw from Tadjikistan or US cities will be destroyed. The only way to stop him is through an experimental craft, which can only be piloted by Hendricks, whose resignation has just taken effect.
Fallout
A tense standoff between Russia and Tajikistan escalates into a nuclear threat against the United States, but the country's advanced arsenal proves to be a decisive factor in defusing the crisis.
