Day 1: 11:00pm-12:00am

David Palmer tells Sherry he wants a divorce. Conspiring with the Drazens, Nina tells Jack that Kim is dead. Jack kills Victor for revenge, and CTU helicopters chase down the remaining Drazens. After learning that Kim is alive, Jack warns Mason that Nina must be the mole. Nina is captured, but she has already killed Teri.

Episode guide

 * Timecodes and events are based on the extended episode on the 24: Season One: Special Edition DVD. Changed or added scenes are indicated in italics.

''Right now, terrorists are plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate. My wife and daughter have been targeted, and people that I work with may be involved in both. I’m federal agent Jack Bauer, and today is the longest day of my life.''

Previously on 24

 * Jack Bauer tells Palmer to talk to Victor Drazen when he calls. Palmer answers the phone, and Victor detonates the bomb hidden inside it. The Drazens hug in celebration.
 * Senator David Palmer is listening to Jack explain that Victor needs to believe the attack was a success. Sherry refuses, and David explains that his daughter is being held hostage.
 * Victor Drazen tells Andre not to do anything until they know Jack is dead. Andre speaks to Jack and finds out he is alive, and Jack offers to trade himself for the life of his daughter. Andre tells him to come to the Port of Los Angeles.
 * Kim Bauer throws coffee into a guard's face and runs out through the docks. Andre points a gun at her but she jumps into the water and swims to the shore.
 * Nina Myers calls Andre, identifying herself as Yelena. She tells Andre that Palmer is not dead, then hangs up.

The following takes place between 11:00pm and midnight on the day of the California Presidential Primary.

11:01:48
Jack Bauer continues to the Port of Los Angeles to trade his life for Kim's.

Meanwhile, Kim evades the Drazens' search parties, seeking a way out of the port. When the men turn their backs to her, she sprints across the dock and climbs a fence, jumping down onto the road on the other side. She hurriedly flags down a truck and asks the driver for help.



Newscasters outside Senator Palmer's hotel continue to report on his alleged death in the explosion. Sherry Palmer angrily tells David that the media has begun to circulate rumors about the cause of his apparent death, and insists that they can't keep deceiving the public and put their campaign in jeopardy. David is disgusted by her disregard for Jack Bauer's daughter, and tells her that he will not talk to the press until she is safely rescued.

At CTU, George Mason asks Nina if she has had any contact with her since his last call, and she says that she hasn't. Just then, Tony receives a call from a highway patrolman, Sergeant Devlin, who claims to have found Jack Bauer's daughter. He puts Kim on the phone, and she tells Mason that he has to warn her father before he walks into a trap. Devlin tells Mason that he picked up Kim near Dock 11A, and agrees to drive her to CTU. Meanwhile, George orders Nina to dispatch two TAC teams to the Port. Devlin gets in the driver's seat and sets off.

11:07:41



Jack arrives at the Port and stakes out an adjacent dock. Andre Drazen calls him and tells him to come to the parking lot near the freight office to make the exchange. Jack asks to talk to Kim before he agrees to do anything, but Andre refuses, telling him that he has no reason to comply since Jack tricked him into believing that Palmer had been killed in the blast. Jack says he won't make a move until Andre confirms that Kim is still alive, and hangs up. Andre tells his father that Jack isn't coming, but Victor promises that he will.

Jack calls Nina, and tells her that he has concrete proof that someone inside CTU is giving the Drazens information: besides Nina, only Mason, Tony, and Chappelle knew that Palmer was still alive, and Jack deduces that one of them must be a spy. After hanging up, Jack continues to scout the dock, whispering "Come on Andre, show your head."

At the hotel, Mike Novick tells David that he doesn't believe the situation with the explosion will require too much "spin," so long as he continues to be honest with the public. He also remarks that the day has been a test for David, as both a candidate and a man. Mike gets a call from an aide, and angrily turns on the TV. A newscaster reports that a source inside the Palmer campaign confirmed that the senator is still alive. Furiously, David storms into the bedroom and yells at Sherry, saying that she simply couldn't wait to leak it to the media. She tries to tell David that she was simply protecting him, which only infuriates him more. Mike tries to pull him away before he can hurt Sherry, insisting that they need to deal with the media right away. David smashes a vase in fury, and leaves with Mike, leaving Sherry alone in the bathroom.

11:12:46...11:12:47...11:12:48...



11:17:23
Nina calls Andre to tell him that Kim is on her way back to CTU, and that TAC teams are heading to the Port. Andre tells his father the news and urges him to get away while they still can, but Victor asks to speak to Yelena himself. He tells her to call Jack and tell him that his daughter's body has been found in the harbor, reasoning that he will come after the Drazens and walk into their trap. Nina reminds him that Jack must die, or else he will know that Nina set him up and blow her cover.



Still at the dock, Jack takes a call from Nina, who breaks him some tragic news: a Coast Guard cutter found Kim's body in the harbor, and she is dead. Broken, at last overcome by the weight of his day, Jack collapses to the ground, crying for his daughter. After a few moments, he regains his resolve, and walks determinedly back to his car. He retrieves an additional gun and ammunition, and breaks into a van nearby.

11:20:55



Victor and Andre make final preparations to depart, and Andre wonders if Jack is coming after all. Victor says he will, driven by his desire for revenge, just as Victor himself was. Immediately, the van comes crashing through the back wall, Jack at the wheel. Drazen's men open fire, and Victor and Andre flee, while Jack jumps out the back door. In a furious rage, he guns down Marko and another commando, and follows the Drazens onto the dock.

Jack scouts for Victor and Andre, and is taken by surprise when they shoot at him from behind. Firing rapidly, he jumps across the boats docked at the pier, making his way towards them. Pinned down by their fire, he reloads both guns and leaps down onto the lower dock, firing away. Just as the getaway boat arrives, Jack catches up with them, shooting Andre in the chest and clambering onto the dock. Victor shoots him in the thigh, and walks over to finish him off, only to find that he is out of bullets. Wearily, Jack pulls himself to his feet and holds Victor at gunpoint.



Drazen drops the gun and holds up his hands, prepared to turn himself in. A moment passes, and just as Drazen starts to lower his hands in relief, Jack shoots him in the chest, continuing to shoot him even after he falls into the water, until his magazine is empty, and continues trying to fire. The getaway boat speeds away, but Jack makes no effort to stop it. Both Drazens dead, Jack collapses to the dock and holds his head.

11:24:25...11:24:26...11:24:27...



11:29:01
Senator David Palmer addresses the media outside the hotel, and apologizes for the misinformation regarding his death. Sherry and Mike watch on TV, and discuss their schedule for the next few days. Mike tells Sherry that she may have made the right decision in telling the press the truth, and she says that the two of them will need to steer the campaign until David "gets his head screwed on right." Mike tells her that David wants to meet with her in five minutes in the ballroom downstairs, and urges her to take the first steps to patch things up between them.

11:31:32

At CTU, Mason gets a call from the TAC team and learns that Jack went in on his own and took out the entire base. He tells Nina and Tony the news, and assures a confused Teri that her family is safe. Meanwhile, Nina, realizing that her cover will soon be blown, hastily makes her way out of the bullpen and walks a corridor. Teri, confused by reports of a "shootout," follows her to find out what really happened.

Nina enters one of the tech rooms and pries a panel off the back wall, which conceals a metal briefcase. She opens it and begins to delete files off a laptop computer, when she is disturbed by a CTU worker behind her. Without a word, Nina takes out a gun and shoots her in the chest. She gets on the phone with a German-speaking female contact, and says that she needs a way out of CTU.



Teri checks the bathroom for Nina, and soon follows her into the tech room. She is surprised that Nina knows how to speak German, and she says she was speaking to someone at the Frankfurt division. Teri says that she can't get anyone outside to tell what really happened with Jack, and wants to know if her family is really safe. Nina assures her that everything is fine, and urges her to stop worrying about them. ''Before she goes, Teri tells Nina that she can tell Nina still has feelings for Jack, but Nina informs her that she plans to transfer out as soon as the crisis passes. Teri begins to apologize, but Nina assures her there's no need and that she appreciates her honesty.''

Nina goes back to talking to her contact. Teri turns to leave and notices the disarray of the room and the missing panel, and then the body of the worker behind her. She tries to leave discreetly, but Nina senses that she knows the truth and stops her at gunpoint. Nina forces her back into the room and yells at her to kneel against the wall.



Back at the port, Jack approaches a Coast Guard officer and asks to claim his daughter's body. The officer says that he isn't aware that any body was picked up, but calls his superior to confirm. He says that no bodies were pulled out of the harbor that night, and Jack, incredibly relieved, thanks him.

Nina ties Teri to a chair, puts a strip of tape over her mouth, and returns to her work. She begins to delete files and photos off her laptop.



Now realizing that Nina has been lying to him all along, Jack runs to his car and gets in. He calls George and asks where Kim is; George tells him that she was picked up half an hour ago and reprimands him for never calling him before. Jack tells him that he needs to find Nina immediately and arrest her. George, surprised at Jack's revelation, says that Jack needs to provide some kind of proof that Nina was working for the Drazens other than his word; Jack promises to get it, and urges George not to let Nina out of the building.

11:38:17...11:38:18...11:38:19...



11:42:53
Jack calls Paul Wilson, who works in CTU's digital archive room. Jack asks him to find the surveillance video in the ITS room where Jamey Farrell cut her wrists, between 8:50 and 9:00am. Wilson looks up the file, and finds that it's been erased, but Jack tells him he can find a backup copy by using his clearance code. Wilson says it should take a few minutes to recover the tape, and Jack tells him to call him back once he has it.

11:43:52

Sherry Palmer fixes her hair and clothes in the kitchen, then proceeds into the now-empty ballroom, where her husband is waiting. David invites her to sit down. Sherry understands that they have a lot to discuss, but asks if this particular meeting can wait until after they've gotten some sleep. He simply shakes his head.



Sherry tries to tell David that although he is angry at her now, eventually he'll understand that everything she has done is in his best interest. David says that he's not angry at her at all, but rather, that he feels sorry for her. In his mind, she has forgotten "what it is to be a parent, a friend. A wife." Then he gets to the point of their meeting: after this night, he doesn't want to see her again. In disbelief, Sherry tries to protest, but he cuts her off, saying that he doesn't care how this affects his campaign. Though he wants to be elected President, he believes she's not "fit to be the First Lady." David tells her that the Secret Service is waiting to fly her back to Washington, and turns to leave. Sherry follows him, screaming that he can't abandon her like this, and that he needs her to be elected. David pauses at the threshold, then silently leaves the ballroom, leaving Sherry alone.



Jack receives a call from Paul Wilson, who says he has recovered the missing footage from Jamey's interrogation. He sends it over to Jack's monitor and starts the video. Jack sees Jamey sitting alone in the room, when somebody enters from behind. It is Nina, who stuns Jamey with a tazer and breaks a coffee mug. Jack sends the video to Mason as proof that Nina is a spy: she was the one who killed Jamey. George watches in disbelief as Nina uses a shard to slit Jamey's wrists, then glares up at the camera menacingly.

11:48:57...11:48:58...11:48:59...



11:53:33
Nina prepares to depart, and calls her German contact. The woman tells Nina that she will be routed through Munich for three days, then proceed to join her employers. The contact reminds Nina that nothing must connect her to Germany, and Nina looks at the back of Teri's head. Just then, a lockdown is initiated, and Nina packs everything up. As she picks up her gun, she tells Teri that she'll lock her inside the room, and someone will find her eventually. Nina hesitates as she leaves.…

Two CTU Security guards make a sweep of the corridor. Nina steps out quietly, and makes her way down the hall away from them. As she reaches the elevator, one of them calls to her, and she shoots him in the chest. She takes the elevator down to the parking garage, and shoots another guard as she steps out. Grabbing her keys, she sprints to her car and gets in, trying to make a getaway.

Before she can leave, Jack pulls into the garage, and stares at her across the driveway. She pulls out her gun and shoots at him through the windshield while he returns fire. Jack ultimately bears down on her and crashes into her car. He gets out and shouts at her to put her hands up.

Jack pulls Nina out of the car and points his gun at her head. She says that he won't know who she really works for if he kills her here. Furious, escalated further by his sleep deprivation, he tells her that his wife and daughter nearly died because of her duplicity, and asks her how many others lost their lives because she was "doing her job." Mason and Tony enter the garage and try to resolve the situation. Mason tells Jack that Kim just arrived, and urges him to let go of Nina and join his family. After a tense moment, he relents, and the guards take Nina into custody. Mason walks Jack back into the building, while Tony stares after Nina, in disbelief that she deceived him.

Jack reunites with Kim, and embraces her, promising that the nightmare is finally over. They hug and cry for a while, until Jack notices that Teri is curiously absent. As he goes to search for her, broadcast news reports cite him by name as the man who saved Palmer's life.

Jack walks down the hall and checks the server room. Further down the way, he comes upon the dying security guard whom Nina shot. With dread, he shouts at the guards to search the floor, and bursts into the tech room where Teri was being held hostage. Jack catches sight of Teri unconscious and runs over to her.

As he gets closer, he discovers a terrifying complication — a gunshot wound to Teri's chest. Jack tries to save her, but then looks closer and comes to the tragic realization that Teri is already dead.

Split screen: Jack collapses against a wall, holding his wife's body. The previous night, Jack says goodnight to Kim after their chess game, and playfully banters with Teri.

Jack cradles Teri's lifeless body, sobbing, and apologizes to her as the day's final seconds run out.

(Silent clock) 11:59:57...11:59:58...11:59:59...12:00:00

Starring

 * Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
 * Leslie Hope as Teri Bauer
 * Sarah Clarke as Nina Myers
 * Elisha Cuthbert as Kim Bauer
 * and Dennis Haysbert as Senator David Palmer

Guest starring

 * Zeljko Ivanek as Andre Drazen
 * Xander Berkeley as George Mason
 * Jude Ciccolella as Mike Novick
 * Karina Arroyave as Jamey Farrell
 * Kevin Chapman as Coast Guard Officer
 * Terrell Tilford as Paul Wilson

Special guest stars

 * Penny Johnson Jerald as Sherry Palmer
 * Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida
 * and Dennis Hopper as Victor Drazen

Co-starring

 * Rey Gallegos as Sergeant Devlin
 * Tico Wells as Karris
 * Endre Hules as Serge
 * Jane Yamamoto as Field Reporter

Uncredited

 * Olivia Chang as IT woman
 * Tony Donno as CTU guard
 * Mark Kubr as Marko
 * Dina Margolin as Kim Bauer (stunt double)

Deleted scenes

 * Three different endings were shot, in order to prevent leaks and in case the producers had a change of heart. In the other two versions Teri survives. One alternate ending can be seen on the Season 1 DVD set.

Background information and notes

 * This and "Day 6: 5:00am-6:00am" are the only two episodes to fade to black before the final clock. They were both season finales and were also both shown on the same date; May 21.
 * This and "Day 1: 12:00am-1:00am" are the only two episodes of the series to substitute the word "midnight" for "12:00 A.M." during the opening "The following takes place..." narration.
 * This is the first episode to feature the silent clock, and the episode which sets the precedent of its use following a dramatic moment within the show. In this case, it follows the tragic death of Teri Bauer.
 * At the exact moment Jack turns around on the docks from incoming fire from the Drazens, a cameraman and camera are shown.
 * This is the only episode in which a flashback is shown, though it is shown in split screen with "live footage" of Jack holding Teri.
 * This is the first episode of the series to feature the "Viewer Discretion is Advised" warning prior to the show.
 * An audio commentary track for this episode is featured on the 24: Season One: Special Edition DVD set.
 * In 2009, this episode was ranked the 10th greatest television episode of all time by TV Guide.
 * Translation error: In the opening scene, Andre and Serge are talking in Serbian. Andre says "What are you guys doing? She couldn't have disappeared," in Serbian, but the subtitles read, "Split up with Marko so you can cover more ground." Serge says "All right, all right, don't worry," in Serbian, but the subtitles say, "We will."
 * In "Day 1: 7:00am-8:00am," when showing her into the room where Jamey later committed suicide, Tony assures Nina that the room has "no active cameras", yet in this episode camera footage from the room is accessed. Findings at CTU attempts to explain the discrepancy by saying that Tony put the cameras on a loop and the actual footage was put straight into archives, however Paul Wilson tells Jack there he got the camera footage no problem but it was erased that morning.
 * This is the first episode in which a main cast member kills another main cast member, in this case, it's Nina Myers who kills Teri Bauer. The other two episodes are Day 7: 1:00am-2:00am in which Tony Almeida kills Larry Moss and Day 8: 11:00am-12:00pm, in which Jack Bauer kills Dana Walsh.