Air controller Jack Harris (Kiefer Sutherland) is wrought with guilt after a mistake he made led to the crash of a plane and the deaths of all of the people on board. He is haunted by the last words of the pilot, and eventually decides to quit his job and move to Phoenix to get away from the bad memories he can't seem to shake. Later, he is summoned back to the job that he left, as an ex coworker T. C. Bryant (Bruce McGill) pleads for Jack's help during a very short-handed time. The job is made even more challenging by the storm that is predicted to hit, and the power troubles they are having, caused by sabotage from John Quinn (Henry Winkler). This all combines together to create a very stressful and challenging re-entry into the world Jack is trying so hard to forget.