Two bank robbers have taken twenty-five hostages on a train, but Emily must handle the negotiations by herself, as Matt has been called away to another hostage crisis. However, when she suspects that the entire stunt is merely a decoy so that the real thieves can get away, things become much more complicated. Meanwhile, Matt must try to convince a psychiatric patient to release two people that he has taken captive.
Matt Flaherty and Emily Lehman are top-ranked crisis negotiators in the FBI's Crisis Negotiation Unit who are trained to talk their way through volatile situations. They make an outstanding team professionally, but their relationship is a bit more precarious off the job. The series advances the fundamental idea that in life and in love "Everything is a negotiation".