Dr. Beverly Owens (Charity Merrill) survives a space shuttle crash landing in an African terrorist nation unfriendly to the United States. She is taken prisoner by Akmed Najah (Charles Charpiot) who seeks to use a new satellite's plutonium payload as material for a nuclear weapon. The U.S. President (Warren Chaney) sends covert CIA operative Bill Murphy (William Brown) to ask aerial flight ace Zach Taylor (Chuck Stockdale) to lead a secret in-country search and rescue effort.