Hostages - Season 1

When Ellen disobeys Duncan's orders to assassinate the President during surgery, he tells her it will cost her a family member's life. Duncan also informs the family that they are to go about their normal lives for the next two weeks until the President's operation, and that his team will be monitoring their every move. Recurring guest star HILARIE BURTON (One Tree Hill) appears as Samantha, Brian's mistress.

Duncan threatens Ellen that she must convince the President to keep her on as his surgeon after he decides to go with another doctor, or there will be consequences. Plus, Ellen meets Duncan's daughter, Sawyer (recurring guest star LOLA COOK - World Trade Center) and gains insight into his life. Recurring guest stars include HILARIE BURTON as Samantha, MARY ELIZABETH MASTRANTONIO as the First Lady, JEREMY BOBB (You Don't Know Jack) as Quentin Creasy and LARRY PINE (House of Cards) as Burton Delaney.

Ellen and Brian devise a plan with their kids to escape from Duncan. Meanwhile, Duncan's wife, Nina (guest star FRANCIE SWIFT - House of Cards, The Good Wife), tells him that she wants to discontinue her treatment and spend her time with her husband and daughter.

Ellen has to make another life-changing choice when she performs emergency surgery in her own home. Meanwhile, Duncan demands answers when Archer tells him that an innocent person in their plan has become a victim.

When Ellen's sister, Lauren (guest star NINA ARIANDA - Midnight in Paris, The Good Wife), shows up unexpectedly at their house intending to stay, Duncan forces Ellen to get rid of her without making it look suspicious. Meanwhile, the secret service calls Ellen in for questioning again and she must play it cool when Duncan is there to help do the questioning.

Ellen and Brian agree that they need to take down Duncan to have any chance of escaping, so she sneaks away to see a man who has previously helped her solve problems. However, unbeknownst to her, this man has ties to Duncan. Meanwhile, Archer's accomplice plans to reveal to the Assistant District Attorney information about a murder Archer committed. Recurring guest star JOANNE KELLY (Warehouse 13) appears as Vanessa, sister of the First Lady, Mary (recurring guest star MARY ELIZABETH MASTRANTONIO).

Ellen must decide whether to save Duncan's life, and later decides to confront his wife. Meanwhile, Creasy (recurring guest star JEREMY BOBB - You Don't Know Jack) meets with Vanessa (recurring guest star JOANNE KELLY) and Colonel Blair (recurring guest star BRIAN WHITE - Beauty and the Beast, The Cabin in the Woods, The Shield) after the President informs them that he wants to expose the details of Operation Total Information, a government surveillance program that allowed intelligence agencies to spy on U.S. citizens.

When investigators get closer to discovering the conspiracy to kill the President, Duncan is ordered to get rid of an insider by someone very connected to the plot. Meanwhile, Duncan takes the next step in his master plan and gives Ellen the poison she is to use to kill the President.

After a member of the President's staff is murdered, Ellen urges Duncan to back out of the assassination plot, while other members of the President's staff take matters into their own hands. Meanwhile, after scouring medical records, Ellen finds someone who might be a viable bone marrow donor for Duncan's wife, Nina.