A freak mid-air collision cripples a trans-Atlantic 747 and a US Air Force jet. Against the clock and overwhelming odds, the planes' crews - or what's left of them - struggle to save the on-board survivors. Meanwhile an obsessed narcotics detective tries to pin drug smuggling and murder on two suspects on board the crippled 747. As the weather deteriorates, most Scottish airports are closed, leaving Prestwick the only airport available for a safe landing. However, Prestwick has its own emergency to deal with, something that overshadows all other problems. Landing permission is refused and more than four hundred people are condemned to an almost certain death over icy, blizzard-swept seas. Can things get any worse? They can - and they do...