Teenage inmates at the Dunne Hill Juvenile Detention Center in California overtake the facility by taking several of the guards hostage. Called to the scene to talk the boys down, Matt and Emily are surprised to learn that the inmates do not want to break out of jail. Rather, their motivation is to keep the Dunne Hill facility, which is scheduled to be torn down the following week, open thereby avoiding transfer to a crowded Supermax facility. The hostage-takers' only request is to speak to the Senator who had previously dodged their correspondence. Meanwhile, violence among the inmates breaks out in the yard, creating more danger for the team and the inmates themselves. Although Matt's negotiations result in freeing several of the hostages, tensions run high as Matt defies the Senator's authority. Shocking revelations behind the Senator's shady business dealings lend support to the inmates' cause, and Matt and Emily's relationship is tested by the case.