October 1973

Laura Brooks is a nervous flier and prefers to keep her feet planted firmly on the ground, yet every year she boards a flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong for a month-long visit with her sister. Her time with her sister is special and this year even more so – she has a brand new niece she can't wait to meet. Excited as she is, she won't breathe a sigh of relief until the wheels touch down in Hong Kong.

Charlie Winters is a young co-pilot with only a few more flights before he is promoted to pilot. Flying is his life and he loves traveling around the world. He has always been happily unattached – free to come and go as he pleases. Hong Kong is one of his favorite cites, and he's looking forward to spending some downtime there after the long flight from San Francisco.

The uneventful flight turns disastrous when a typhoon prevents the plane from landing at its final destination at Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong. With little fuel left, the captain makes a decision that will put the lives of everyone on board in jeopardy – he makes an illegal emergency landing at an airport in Mainland China. It's 1973 and China does not allow planes to land without permission and without the proper paperwork. The plane is immediately surrounded by the Chinese Military and no one is permitted to get on or off.

Charlie's job is to make sure everyone is safe and as he makes his rounds, Laura catches his eye. When it becomes clear they're not going leave any time soon, he enlists her help keeping the passengers calm. The plane sits on the runway for days and as they work together, the attraction between Charlie and Laura grows. Is it the start of something between them, or just the result of their current situation? Will they go their separate ways once they reach the safety of Hong Kong?

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