A new technologically-superior Soviet nuclear sub, the Red October, is heading for the U.S. coast under the command of Captain Marko Ramius. The American government thinks Ramius is planning to attack. Lone CIA analyst Jack Ryan has a different idea: he thinks Ramius is planning to defect, but he has only a few hours to find him and prove it - because the entire Russian naval and air commands are trying to find Ramius, too. The hunt is on!

The docu-drama reveals, for the first time, the astonishing secret events behind the Russian submarine, Red October, that went missing on March 8, 1968, taking the Soviet Union and U.S. to the brink of war.

This program features the standard mix of movie clips, production materials, and interviews. Cast and crew start at the beginning and discussed the acquisition of the rights to Clancy's novel and various adaptation issues. They then went into casting, research for the roles, and many technical topics related to the subs and other special effects concerns.