On his way home from delivering a powerful speech in Moscow regarding the US's new Zero-Tolerance terrorism policy, President James Marshall's (Harrison Ford) official government plane, Air Force One, is hijacked by a group of communist radicals. Also onboard is his wife and young daughter, both of whom are taken hostage as insurance. A former Medal of Honour recipient, the President is able to fight off the terrorists long enough to contact Vice President Kathryn Bennett (Glenn Close) who is now closely monitoring and negotiating with the terrorists from Washington DC. For every half-hour that passes and their demands aren't met, someone will die.