1997 - and Manhattan has become a walled prison for three million criminals where they are left to run loose. The plane carrying the American President crashes there, and he is taken prisoner by "the Duke." Sent in to rescue him from this land of hell is Snake Plissken, former war hero turned criminal. To ensure he does not abandon his mission, two devices are implanted in his arteries, primed to blow him to pieces if he fails to return on time.