Frank Darnell, director of the Central Security Agency (CSA), is at a loss when Miles Crandall, the genius who writes top-secret satellite communication software for is Pentagon-contracted company, disappears from a private jet flight, apparently by parachute, over the desert. CSA vet Cathy Davis, who retired to be a mother to husband Jack ad their kids, is secretly called in to solve the riddle, ironic given her cover as game designer for the US Puzzle Co. They soon realize the escape was staged, the question remains by whom and why. Meanwhile David boy Nick, an unpopular bright nerd, runs for class secretary, his haughty sister Susan fails joining the cheerleaders.