Set in the grim future of 1997 where Manhattan Island has been turned into a maximum security prison, this sci-fi actioner chronicles the attempts of Snake Plissken, a courageous mercenary convict, to rescue the president of the United States after a plane crash lands him in the hands of a villainous super-criminal who wants his freedom. The government gives the mercenary 24 hours to complete his mission. If he fails, Plissken, who is involuntarily wired with explosives, will die a horrible death.