A series of cascading equipment failures leads John to realise that rogue A.I. has gained control of Thunderbird 5. The programme is sending false monitor images to Tracy Island to deceive the other brothers. John finally gets through to Lady Penelope and informs her of the situation. Once the other brothers figure out what is going on, Alan is despatched in Thunderbird 3 to rescue John.
In the 21st century, Jeff Tracy, a former astronaut, amasses a colossal fortune and decides that he must use it to benefit others. His answer to this desire is to create International Rescue, a unique private emergency response service equipped with customized designed vehicles and equipment that enable the organization to react to any crisis whether it be in sea, air, land, or space.
Jeff's five sons volunteer to operate as the pilots and field agents, as well "Brain" who acts as the teams engineer. In addition, Jeff's friend, Kyrano and his daughter Tanusha aka Kayo agree to be the support staff. In addition to the field team, IR also maintains an intelligence network with Lady Penelope and her ex-con chauffeur, Parker as the chief agents in this arm.