Widowed former police officer, decorated soldier, and retired U.S. Secret Service agent John Cutter (Snipes) is constantly haunted by the memories of his wife's death in a convenience store robbery and has launched a course specializing in training flight attendants in self-defense. After one class, Cutter is approached by an old friend, Sly Delvecchio (Tom Sizemore), who offers Cutter the vice presidency of a new antiterrorism unit for his company, Atlantic International Airlines. Cutter is reluctant, but Delvecchio and the company's president, Stuart Ramsey (Bruce Greenwood), convince him to accept the offer.