Sydney Harrison, the owner of an employment agency whose old office was in the World Trade Center, is kidnapped by a man in the elevator on her way to work. Her workmates soon receive an email demanding a large sum of money for Sydney's safe return. The team investigate her employees and clients in a bid to discover the identity of her abductor and it isn't long before they stumble upon the truth. Barry Mashburn, a client of Sydney's, had been increasingly desperate for a job since losing his home and his children. The team investigate the current and past circumstances of Barry's life and discover that he lost his wife, Nicole, in the September 11th attacks, and that Sydney was her boss. Barry orders that Sydney's new assistant deliver the ransom money as he will be able to recognize her, and with the help of Sam, a delivery is arranged at a bookshop. The ransom drop goes badly wrong though, and Barry ends up taking the shop's staff and customers hostage. In an ensuing struggle, Sam is shot with her own gun. After discovering that Sam has been wounded, Jack puts together a desperate plan in order to get medical attention to her. After his pleas for her release are ignored, he impulsively storms into the bookshop, takes Sam out, and exchanges her as a hostage for himself. He negotiates with Barry to release other hostages and during an emotional conversation with the gunman alone, makes some decisions about his own life and where he really wants to be.
