Strike Back

24 hours before the invasion of Iraq: John Porter leads a Special Forces unit on a mission to extract a hostage held by terrorists. Porter and his men are confronted by a young Iraqi boy, a potential suicide bomber and events take a tragic turn. Iraq 2010: British TV news journalist Katie Dartmouth is kidnapped. Major Hugh Collinson, Head of Section 20 British Military Intelligence, recognises one of the kidnappers - it is the suicide bomber As'ad, now a young man. Begging to be involved in the rescue, and adamant that his knowledge is vital, Porter is reactivated.

Returning to the site of the 2003 hostage extraction and battling the memories of that disastrous night, Porter becomes the hostage taker. Capturing one of the terrorists, Porter engineers a move to where the kidnapped TV news journalist Katie Dartmouth is being held. Back at Section 20, the politics of the situation take hold: Collinson and SAS Commander Chris Pemberton are over ruled by Whitehall, as James Middleton categorically denies their request to send in another SAS unit.

Harare, Zimbabwe: President Robert Mugabe makes a live address at the National Assembly. As he leaves Mugabe is shot. Back in London, news reports state that Zimbabwean officials claim the British government is behind the assassination plot which resulted in the death of one of Mugabe's body-doubles. Section 20's Collinson is tasked with making the problem go away and Porter is despatched to Zimbabwe, under the guise of a diamond dealer. Arrested for smuggling, Porter is thrown into the same prison as Masuku, the man arrested for the assassination.

Colonel Tshuma leads the hunt for Porter and Masuku as the fugitives attempt to rendezvous with Layla and escape Zimbabwe. Porter informs Layla that Masuku was tasked by the British government with killing Mugabe and he is bringing him in. Back in London, at Section 20 the hunt is on for a double agent. As the pair trek through the Zimbabwean bush, they try to stay one step ahead of Tshuma's men. But Tshuma has a secret weapon, a bushman tracker. Cornered on a cliff's edge, with a helicopter overhead Porter and Masuku know there's only one way to go...

Section 20, London: An investigation is launched into how British air support in Southern Helmand Province in Afghanistan failed, and it's discovered that encryption codes were hacked into in the field. Evidence leads to a former missile guidance engineer, Gerald Baxter who served in Iraq but was dismissed, suffering with PTSD. Collinson sends Porter to Afghanistan to investigate. Posing as an arms dealer who can sell illegally gained ISAF missile codes, he is kidnapped by his contact and taken to meet Baxter. But the Americans locate them and attack the camp, capturing Porter and Baxter.

Collinson meets US representative Frank Arlington in London. The Americans want the British government to apologise to the families of the Marines killed in the friendly fire missile incident. Collinson refuses to accept responsibility for a situation that the CIA created by using Baxter. Back in Pakistan, Zahir Sharq is exploiting Baxter's fragile mental state and playing 'Russian Roulette' with his and Porter's lives. In the UK, events surrounding the ill-fated 2003 hostage extraction start to become clear.