As a Boeing 737 noses into its gate at Athens airport, the crew is suddenly confronted by Greek officials intent on removing one of their passengers - a former US President. Fearing the man's life may be in danger, Captain Craig Dayton stages an uncleared take-off down a vacant runway.

There's an Interpol warrant out for John Harris's arrest, which would extradite him to Peru to face a show trial on charges of condoning torture and murder while at the White House. Almost every nation is obliged to honour that warrant, ensuring his public humiliation and imprisonment on a dubious charge.

Sill determined to protect him, Dayton and his crew commence a round-the-clock mission - from Greece to Sicily to Ireland - seeking some safe haven for this newest international pariah. Meanwhile, at ground level, Harris's dishevelled lawyer is wrestling single-handed with an international elite of legal sharks snapping for their biggest prize yet.