Cameron Poe is a highly decorated US ranger. He is convicted of manslaughter after protecting his wife from a drunken brawler. After eight years in prison he is being paroled and going home to his wife and daughter. His ride home is on the Jailbird, a secure air craft designed for prisoner transport. The plane is transporting some of society's most vicious murderers to Feltham Penitentiary, Lousiana's toughest maximum security prison. A surprising escape is made on board the plane. The cons seize control of the plane, and head it towards Las Vegas. Prison officials on the ground want to blow it out of the sky, but there is an alternative.