As Ellen Adams races to prevent a terrorist attack, she is forced to ask herself how far she will go and what she will sacrifice to stop the bombs. Ellen asks herself how much she will sacrifice to save the day as she is consistently faced with new and increasingly horrifying challenges. An initial wave of security failings mean that a terrorist arms dealer is released from prison and three buses filled with civilians are destroyed in bomb attacks. From there, Ellen must prevent further nuclear attacks designed to bring social collapse to the United States and usher in a new era of extreme right wing authoritarianism. The stakes continue to increase, so more is asked of Ellen. She must place her life, her friends’ and families’ lives, and the lives of strangers on the line to stop the collapse of American democracy.

With these stakes established, Ellen accepts the fact that she must make sacrifices in the name of security. She places herself in a public firing line, knowing that the newly appointed President is likely orchestrating her downfall. Ellen accepts challenges when she knows the risks, whether she is accepting the president’s offer to be a part of his cabinet or deliberately flying to Russia for a face-to-face showdown with its president.