When the crew of the
U.S. Navy Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine, the USS
Colorado (SSBN-753), pick up a
U.S. Navy SEAL team off
Pakistan's coast, the
Colorado receives an order to launch nuclear
ballistic missiles at Pakistan.
Colorados Commanding Officer, Captain Marcus Chaplin (
Andre Braugher), asks for confirmation of the firing order because the orders were received through a legacy
Cold War secondary communication channel, only to be used in the event that
Washington, D.C., has
already been destroyed. After confirming Washington's continued existence and refusing to fire the missiles until the command is sent through the proper system, Chaplin is relieved of command by the
Deputy Secretary of Defense William Curry (
Jay Karnes), and the
Colorados second in command, Lieutenant Commander Sam Kendal (
Scott Speedman), is given command instead. When Kendal also questions the orders and asks for confirmation, the vessel is fired upon by the
Virginia-class attack submarine
USS Illinois (SSN-786). Two nuclear missile strikes are subsequently made on Pakistan by other U.S. submarines. Realizing they have been declared enemies of their own country, the
Colorado seeks refuge on the island of Sainte Marina (a fictional French island located in the
Indian Ocean) and commandeer a
NATO communications and
early missile warning facility. When a pair of
B-1 bombers is sent to attack the submarine and island, Chaplin launches a
Trident nuclear missile towards Washington, D.C., to impress upon the national leadership that he's serious. The B-1s turn away at the last minute, but Chaplin (who has altered the missile's final target coordinates) allows the missile to visibly overfly Washington, D.C., and explode beyond in the open
Atlantic, the explosion clearly visible from both Washington and
New York City. Via a television feed to the media, he then declares a 200-mile exclusion zone around Sainte Marina. Now, the crew must find a way to prove their innocence and find out who in the U.S. government has set them up, so they can finally return home. As the series progresses, Chaplin finds himself having to become a reluctant ally with
China, while trying to keep his own crew, led by
Chief of the Boat Joseph Prosser (
Robert Patrick), from rebelling against him. He must also combat the schemes of the local drug lord Julian Serrat (
Sahr Ngaujah). The series also follows the efforts of Kylie Sinclair (
Autumn Reeser), a weapons designer back home who allies with Christine Kendal (
Jessy Schram), the wife of the
Colorados
XO, to discern the truth behind the nuclear attack on Pakistan and the
Colorados fugitive status. An ongoing subplot involves a Navy SEAL named James King (
Daniel Lissing) who, wracked with guilt over his role in the events leading to the nuking of Pakistan, cultivates a romance with one of the island's residents (
Dichen Lachman) while surreptitiously aiding the XO. The series concludes with a series of mutinies, ending with the
Colorado destroyed with Chaplin still on board, the surviving crew returning home to the United States, the President assassinated, and the full story made public when Kylie Sinclair arranges for proof of the president and his administration's traitorous activities to be handed over to the press. ==Cast and characters==