Police are dispatched to rescue the President. Romero, the right-hand man of the Duke of New York, the overall crime boss, warns that the President has been captured and will be killed if any further rescue attempts are made. In the meantime, former Special Forces soldier Snake Plissken is about to be sent into Manhattan after being convicted of robbing the Federal Reserve. Police Commissioner Bob Hauk offers a deal to Snake: if he rescues the President in time for the summit, Hauk will arrange a presidential pardon. To keep Snake from going rogue, Hauk has him injected with micro-explosives that will sever his carotid arteries in 22 hours. If Snake is successful, Hauk will neutralize the explosives.