The Puzzle Box

Synopsis

After the terrorist organization Hamas orchestrates a nuclear attack in Haifa, geopolitical tensions are higher than ever. PRESIDENT TROY BURNS must decide what to do when it appears likely Hamas is being supplied by Iran. NSA Deputy Director JOSEPH PRYOR and his associate JANICE MINTZ analyze footage of the attack and discover it does appear the attack came from an Iranian ship. They are stunned when Israel retaliates by attacking Iran, plunging the world ever closer into another world war. It becomes clear Pryor is secretly dealing with health issues as he learns that the bomb appears to have been a Russian warhead that went missing in 1989, prompting them to focus on finding the Russian who might have served as an arms dealer.

In China, undercover CIA agents VINNY CHIN and JIMMY WOO are attempting to deliver crucial intelligence regarding the attack. When they're in a car wreck, Vinny is killed while Jimmy hides the memory card that has the information. Jimmy is found by Chinese authorities and pretends to be a Uygur smuggler. After hiding the memory card inside a stitched-up wound, Jimmy is sent to a work camp run by the ruthless HAN who forces him to make cell phones.

A series of attacks escalates tensions worldwide as it becomes clear China is using the crisis to start making moves to take Taiwan. Pryor and Janice continue their hunt for the Russian arms dealer and set their sights on VLAD AGAPOV, who was recently traded back to Russia in a prisoner exchange. They scheme to figure out how to reach him even as they learn Jimmy is alive. Meanwhile, two Chinese migrants, FANG and WEI, infiltrate the U.S. and begin committing acts of sabotage.

At the work camp, Jimmy befriends two prisoners, TURSUN ALMAS and NUR. Jimmy learn Tursun has a wife who works as a maid for the provincial committee's secretary. Jimmy secretly removes the memory card from his wound and hides it in a mattress, but Nur observes this and reports him to Han. When Han searches the mattress, he finds only a dead rat that Jimmy planted as a decoy. In a flashback, it's revealed Jimmy is guilt-ridden over his failure to stop a suicide bomber in Afghanistan. As Tursun nurses him, Jimmy reveals his desperation to escape the camp. Tursun agrees to help.

Cyberattacks and power disruptions occur around the world as Pryor and Janice deduce that someone might be creating this chaos and framing the countries seemingly responsible. They also begin hunting Wei and Fang but the stress exacerbates Pryor's health conditions and he collapses. Pryor brushes off the problem to focus on his work as, down by the Texas-Mexican border, there's a violent firefight between migrants and armed Texans. As Pryor and his team investigate, they realize the Chinese are connected to everything that's been happening.

Jimmy tries to escape but is spotted by a guard who he must knock unconscious before returning to the dormitory. Han suspects Jimmy and works on making his life miserable.

Tursun helps Jimmy feign illness so Jimmy will be transported away. In the transport truck, Jimmy confronts Han and manages to knock him out before escaping. But not before he is shot. He makes his way to the home of PATIGUL, Tursun's wife, and begs her for help in accessing a computer. Patigul has believed Tursun is dead and agrees to help.

Tensions continue to rise as China makes moves towards seizing Taiwan and war seems imminent. Thanks to Pryor's work, Wei and Fang are captured along with their team of hackers. Patigul helps Jimmy break into the home of COMMISSIONER LI, the provincial secretary who she works for. Jimmy manages to send his intelligence to his superiors but Commissioner Li arrives and Jimmy is forced to hide. He arranges for a pornographic website to appear on the computer and, when Li spots this, he assumes Patigul broke in to look at the forbidden material. Patigul is forced to go along with the ruse and agrees to spend the night with Commissioner Li, allowing Jimmy to escape. However, Han soon finds Jimmy and captures him but not before he protects Patigul from an assault.

In Moscow, agent RACHEL ISAACS lays a honey trap for Vlad Agapov and manages to capture him. She tortures him to force him to reveal who he sold his nuclear weapons to. Pryor and Janice receive Jimmy's intelligence reports and pass them on the Burns.

The President meets with the CHINESE AMBASSADOR CAO where he refers to Chinese puzzle boxes and how numerous smaller puzzles must be solved to find a solution. He implies this is what's happened now as, thanks to the actions of the various other characters, he now has proof China bought the nuclear arms and arranged the attacks as a way of distracting the world while it seized Taiwan. Burns also formed an alliance with Russia, Israel, and Iran.

Fearful of economic sanctions and war against the world, China backs down, and global tensions ease. Pryor retires because of his health and recommends Janice as his successor. His last act is to attend the return of the bodies of Vinny and Jimmy as it's revealed Jimmy was killed by Han. Back in China, it's also revealed that Tursun has been executed while Patigul has survived but is now entirely alone. In Russia, Vlad attempts to escape with his money but is met by Russian assassins who terminate him.