How an ordinary military exercise in the United States nearly trigger a nuclear war. Breathlessly chronicled an episode of the Cold War unknown to the general public.In 1983, the Staff of NATO organized a large-scale military exercise, designed to test communication procedures. Closely monitored by the Soviet regime, the operation starts Nov. 2 in an international context extremely tense. Previously, President Reagan revived the arms race by installing three new Pershing missiles in Europe. Despite the peace movement, he drives the point of this strategy, carried by the famous speech on "evil empire", ruled in March 1983. Two weeks later, he launched the program "Star Wars". Soviet side, Andropov succeeded Brezhnev. This spy career, old and in poor health, does not want to show weakness toward the West. Mistrust is at its peak in both camps. Until a Russian military satellite detects - by mistake - the launch of several missiles ...
Using archive footage, reconstructions and interviews with key witnesses of that time (members of armed Secret Service or of the U.S., Soviet and English), this film immerses the viewer in the middle of a critical time and unknown to the Cold War. Story structure based on the chronic breathless days of November 1983 to return in flashback to the great moments of tension between the superpowers.