[1] In post-Cold War Washington an inexperienced political appointee, Paul Hood (Hamlin), is to head the supposedly obsolete National Crisis Management Center (NCMC) - with an eye to downsizing it.

But top secret information is leaking to high powered Washington reporter Kate Michaels (Deidre Hall) and to the Israelis, whose Mossad representative Werkauf (Luis Avalos) threatens will take unilateral action if the US does not.

This gives Pamela Bluestone (Lindsay Frost), the Center's brilliant psychiatrist "mind-reader and Good Witch of the East," the opening to make a play for Hood.

Then wily rogue KGB Col. Stolipin (Sherman Howard) alters the ship's course towards Libya, reducing the time-frame in which the recovery team, codenamed "Linebacker", can act.

Hood sends Pamela Bluestone and Dan McCaskey (Bo Hopkins), deputy assistant FBI director and Center' crime/terrorism expert, to New York to arrest Fazawi, who must be in custody before "Linebacker" moves.

When asked how she got the Russians and Israelis to cooperate Liz Gorman (Mia Korf), the Center's long suffering and resourceful Press and Congressional Liaison, replies: "I appealed to their sense of national interest... Well you know: blackmail."

NCMC Staff Washington Other cast members Producer: Richard L. O'Connor Cinematography: Alan Otino Caso, Casting: Joel Thurm, Production Design: Donald Light-Harris, Art Direction: Erik Olson, Set Decoration: Ronald R. Reiss, Costume Design: Darryl Levine, Hair Stylist: Mimi Jafari, Makeup Artist: Martha Preciado, Special Effects: Kam Cooney, Stunt coordinator: Chuck Waters.

Thirdly, "The U.S. is not prepared for international crises..." [4] Steve Johnson, of the Chicago Tribune, after decrying the script's lack of subtly, confusing "techno-chatter" and "stick figures," felt that "...it deftly conveys the claustrophobic, paranoiac atmosphere of a place such as Op Center's headquarters.

In this environment, everybody is tailing everybody else..." Johnson concluded: "It's ultimately worth the attention required, because a well-plotted, fast-paced story unfolds, one that does a good job of moving the spy thriller genre onto the less certain sands of modern geopolitics.