Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) is a New York City subway dispatcher whose ordinary day is thrown into chaos by an audacious crime: The hijacking of a subway train. Ryder (John Travolta) the criminal mastermind behind the hijacking and leader of a highly-armed gang of four threatens to execute the train s passengers unless a large ransom is paid within one hour. As the tension mounts beneath his feet Garber employs his vast knowledge of the subway system in a battle to outwit Ryder and save the hostages. But there s one riddle Garber can t solve: even if the thieves get the money how can they possibly escape?