Episode list

Based on the eponymous international bestseller by Richard Preston, The Hot Zone recounts the terrifying true story of the origins of the Ebola virus, a highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest and its first arrival on U.S. soil. In 1989, when this killer suddenly appears in monkeys (Cynomolgus or crab eating macaques) in a scientific lab in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. -- a stone's throw away from the White House -- there is no known cure. A heroic U.S. Army veterinarian, working with a secret military SWAT team, puts herself in mortal peril when she tries to head off the outbreak before it spreads to the human population. The Hot Zone is a dramatic, hair-raising account of a rare and lethal virus and its impact on the human race.

Lt. Col. Nancy Jaax takes matters into her own hands when she convinces an employee at the research facility to hand over more samples from the infected monkeys. Meanwhile, at USAMRIID Jaax and Jahrling test the new specimens and face the virus through their microscope. Jaax is determined to figure out the source and brings in Ebola expert Dr. Wade Carter.

When representatives from varying agencies disagree on how to handle Jaax's discovery, she realizes there are few protocols in place for containing a deadly virus on U.S. soil. An employee at the monkey research facility falls ill, causing Jaax to fear the virus has spread to the human population. Travis Rhodes, from the Center for Disease Control, arrives with a different way of handling matters.

Nancy Jaax begins to lead a team from USAMRIID to prepare for the most dangerous mission any of them have ever faced. With full access to the research facility, the life-threatening stakes cause great concern in the Jaax family home. Her husband, Jerry, searches for a way to protect his wife. Meanwhile, Jaax believes her mentor, Dr. Wade Carter, may have a different agenda.

Inside the primate research facility, unforeseen dangers arise. Lt. Col. Jaax works tirelessly in Biosafety Level 4 to find out why the virus is behaving differently in human victims than expected. With the daunting task of euthanizing monkeys, unforeseen dangers arise, and even the strongest of the team are pushed to the brink.

Nancy Jaax takes the role as team leader to clean up the factory. Under extreme fatigue mistakes occur. Carter has to mend fences with Rhodes and they work together to prevent further contamination.