Set in the 2060s, the series follows the exploits of International Rescue, an organisation that uses technologically-advanced rescue vehicles to save human life. The main characters are ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, founder of International Rescue, and his five adult sons, who pilot the organisation's main fleet: the "Thunderbird" machines. In "Trapped in the Sky", master criminal the Hood plants a bomb on board the new atomic-powered airliner "Fireflash" before it departs on its maiden flight. Unable to land for fear of setting off the bomb, the crew and passengers' only hope of survival lies with International Rescue.