On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley, trying to prove his love for actress Jodie Foster, attempts to assassinate President Ronald Reagan (Richard Crenna) in front of the Washington Hilton. Only 70 days into his term, Reagan takes a bullet between the heart and lung and is forced into the hospital. Meanwhile, with Vice President Bush in transit, Secretary of State Alexander Haig (Richard Dreyfus) takes control at the White House only to find himself close to nuclear conflict with the Soviet Union. This thought-provoking film, which originally aired on the Showtime network, utilizes various sources to provide a portrait of an infamous day in American history which was fraught with far more chaos than the public even knew.