Detective Amber Cross is Hartford, Connecticut's go-to crisis negotiator, currently at risk of losing custody of her young son to her estranged husband. And despite the recently tragic end of a domestic stand-off, she's the first to get called in when Calum, a troubled and dangerous young genius, hijacks a bus load of school children and holds them for ransom. As Amber negotiates for control of the scene she also struggles with an irresolvable conflict - saving the lives of these abducted children, even if she may not be able to retain custody of her own.