With the Cold War at its height,* US bomber pilot Colonel Jack Grady *(George Clooney) is accidentally commanded to drop a nuclear warhead over Russia. As Grady continues on his mission *- insisting despite frantic verbal commands to the contrary that he has passed the *'fail safe' point of no return *- the United States President *(Richard Dreyfuss) and his staff frantically attempt to avert disaster as they liaise with their Russian counterparts.
