A dance teacher receives a message from her ex-husband, who is holding a gun to his head: he claims he's en route to the dance studio and threatens to murder the family; officers race to beat him to the scene, pleading with him to stand down.

Two mothers face their worst fear: suspects take their children hostage. Negotiators work via text to get a baby to safety, and they draw on their own parenting experience to convince a suspect to give himself up.

An elderly man faking chest pains takes five EMT firefighters hostage at gunpoint. With a house full of firearms and an unwillingness to negotiate, officers believe he has a deadly plan in mind.

Negotiators try to de-escalate the situation when officers locate an armed suspect in a dark forest at night who has taken his three children hostage and claims he will hurt his family.

Harrowing recorded conversations with criminals who have taken people hostage, as negotiators break down their psychological tactics in their attempts to have the abductees released unharmed.

When a 10-year-old girl reports being held hostage by a family friend, negotiator Mike Newlin must earn the suspect's trust. In New Mexico, an assailant takes shelter inside a local tourist attraction, taking everyone hostage.

An ex-felon with an axe to grind takes his former lawyer hostage, threatening to detonate a bomb if he doesn't get justice.

A man takes his wife hostage after she demands a divorce. Negotiators plead with the suspect to let her go but have no idea there is another plan going on inside the house that could have fatal consequences.