The season's main plot revolves around an
assassination attempt on
David Palmer, a
U.S. Senator from
Maryland who is a presidential candidate for the
Democratic Party, on the day of the
primary election in
California. The central character is
Jack Bauer, a former
United States Army Delta Force operator, who is the Director of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) in
Los Angeles. Bauer becomes professionally as well as personally involved when his wife
Teri and daughter
Kim are kidnapped by the people behind the assassination. The season is divided into two halves, each with a distinct villain. The first focuses on a
mercenary group, led by Ira Gaines, in their efforts to control Bauer by kidnapping his wife and daughter, blackmailing him to kill Senator Palmer. The second half focuses on the Drazen brothers, who hired Gaines and his men, as they execute a contingency plan. As CTU tracks their activities, Bauer learns why he and the Senator are being targeted. Fox initially ordered only 13 episodes; the successful rescue at the end of the season's first half was planned as a
series finale in the event that the show was not renewed.
Major subplots The show follows each of the five main characters—Jack Bauer, Teri Bauer, Kim Bauer, Nina Myers, and David Palmer—simultaneously, as well as one main villain: Ira Gaines, Andre Drazen, and finally Victor Drazen. The day's situations and the relationships between these five characters and their associates form the basis for the season's subplots, which include: • A
mole at CTU is
sabotaging efforts to stop Palmer's assassination. • Members of the Bauer family are rebuilding their relationships now that Bauer has moved home after being separated from Teri for six months. • There are tensions between Bauer and two of his co-workers:
Nina Myers and
Tony Almeida. Myers is in a relationship with Almeida but was previously involved with Bauer. • Teri discovers the relationship between Bauer and Myers. • Kim develops feelings for Rick Allen, even though
he was originally hired to kidnap her. •
Political scandals threaten to erupt as Maureen Kingsley, a reporter and friend of Palmer's, learns that Palmer's daughter had been raped seven years prior, and that Palmer's son killed the rapist, Lyle Gibson. • Sherry Palmer's lies, including helping to cover up Keith's role in Gibson's death, cause Palmer to question Sherry's loyalties and motives.
Summary Season 1 starts and ends at 12:00 a.m.
PST on the day of the California Presidential Primary. The season focuses on presidential candidate David Palmer, and the repeated attempts on his life prevented by Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer, who becomes personally involved when the assassins kidnap his wife Teri and daughter Kim in an attempt to blackmail Bauer. The first 13 episodes focus on the efforts of a
terrorist cell led by
Ira Gaines to assassinate Palmer. Bauer becomes an instrument for Gaines after Gaines kidnaps his wife Teri and daughter Kim in order to force him to aid in the assassination and take the fall for Palmer's death. Forced to go rogue from the agency, Bauer gets assistance from Nina Myers and eventually Tony Almeida as they attempt to identify a mole in CTU helping Gaines. Throughout the day, Palmer also deals with his ethical responsibilities as it is revealed that his son is implicated in the death of his daughter's rapist. He clashes repeatedly with his wife, his son, and his fixer trying to figure out the best way to handle the coming story. Upon discovering his wife Sherry's role in the cover-up, he begins to doubt her motivations. After the first assassination attempt fails, he remembers Bauer, and eventually the two meet and begin to work together to take down the men who hired Gaines, Andre and Alexis Drazen. Two years prior, to the day, Bauer was sent as part of a classified team to
Kosovo on the orders of a Senate subcommittee headed by Palmer to kill
Victor Drazen,
Slobodan Milošević's "shadow." In order to ensure secrecy, the panel never met nor knew the team of operatives, nor did the team know the panel. Therefore, Palmer and Bauer never knew about each other before the events of the show. The mission went south, resulting in the death of Victor Drazen, as well as his wife and daughter. The Drazens decided to get revenge on Palmer and Bauer by killing Palmer, framing Bauer, and killing Bauer's own wife and daughter. During the last few hours of the day, Bauer discovered his team had only killed Drazen's body double; the real Victor Drazen is actually a top secret, unofficial prisoner of the U.S. government, and the Drazens' primary goal was to free him. Eventually, to satisfy the Drazens, Palmer's death is faked, but Sherry exposes the ruse on TV, causing Palmer to divorce her. Out of options, Victor Drazen calls his mole inside CTU, revealed to be
Nina Myers, ordering her to call Bauer and tell him that his daughter is dead in an attempt to lure him into a trap and kill him. Bauer ultimately kills Drazen and all his men in retaliation, but learns that Myers lied to him and must be a mole. Before he can take her into custody, she shoots his wife dead, and the season ends with Bauer tearfully apologizing to his dead wife while cradling her in his arms. ==Characters==