Strike Back : Episode guide

This is a list of the six episodes in Strike Back, with brief plot summaries. The series tells three separate but linked stories, each one spread over two episodes.

Episode 1 : Iraq

Twenty four hours before the invasion of Iraq in 2003, John Porter leads a Special Forces unit on a mission to rescue a hostage held by terrorists in Basra. The rescue goes wrong, two of Porter's colleagues are killed, and he takes the blame. Guilt-ridden, he leaves the army and his life falls apart.

In 2010, a British TV news journalist, Katie Dartmouth, is kidnapped. Andrew Collinson, who was also present on that night in 2003, is now Head of Section 20, British Military Intelligence (MI6), and he recognises one of the kidnappers as having been involved in the Basra kidnap. Porter, insisting that his knowledge of that incident is vital to this one, begs to be allowed to help with the rescue of the journalist. 

Episode 2

Porter returns alone to the place where the earlier rescue took place. Battling memories of that night, he captures one of the terrorists in order to get to the place where the journalist is being held. Now the SAS must mount a rescue to extract both Porter and Dartmouth before they are executed by the kidnappers.

At the end of the episode, Porter is surprised by some new information about what happened on that night in 2003.

Episode 3 : Zimbabwe

After making a live address at the National Assembly in Harare, Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe is shot dead. Zimbabwe's Secret Intelligence Service hunts for the killers, and find a lone gunman, Felix Masuku. But is Mugabe really dead? It seems not - it was his body double who died.

Zimbabwe blames the British Government for the plot to assassinate him, and Andrew Collinson is tasked with solving a tricky diplomatic situation. Porter is sent to Zimbabwe posing as a diamond dealer. But he is arrested on charges of smuggling, and ends up in jail with Masuku. They plan an escape with the help of Porter's colleague from Section 20, Layla Thompson.

Episode 4 : Hunted

Colonel Tshuma, head of Zimbabwe's Secret Intelligence Service, leads the hunt for Porter and Masuku as they attempt to get out of Zimbabwe. By now, Porter has found out that the situation regarding the assassination plot is not what it seemed. Tshuma and his men close in on Porter and Masuku...

By the end of the episode, Thompson has become interested in finding out what happened in Basra in 2003.

Episode 5 : Afghanistan

In Southern Helmand Province, Afghanistan, American forces are fighting the Taliban. Heavily out-numbered, they call for air support from the British. When it arrives, a missile is released, targeted at the Taliban. But then we see a man on a nearby hilltop typing furiously on a laptop - and the missile changes course, hitting the US soldiers. The man cheers. He's British.

Back in London, an investigation begins. The evidence points to a former missile guidance engineer, Gerald Baxter, who fought in the Iraq war, but was dismissed, suffering from PTSD. Collinson sends Porter to Afghanistan to investigate. Posing as an arms dealer, he is kidnapped by his contact and taken to meet Baxter. But then they are captured by the Americans.

Episode 6 : Showdown

Collinson meets US representative Frank Arlington in London. The Americans want the British government to apologise to the families of the Marines killed in the friendly fire missile incident. But given what he now knows about the incident, Collinson refuses to accept responsibility for it.

Porter and Baxter are now being held in Pakistan. Eventually, they manage to escape but have to survive attacks from the Taliban if they are to make it to safety.

Finally, the truth about what happened on that night back in 2003 emerges.

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