Walter Garber is a New York City subway dispatcher who has been assigned to the Rail Control Center due to an ongoing investigation to find out if he accepted a bribe. Things are running like clockwork on his watch until four armed men, led by the intelligent ex-con Riley, highjack the Pelham 123 and hold it's passengers hostage in return for a ransom, turning Garber's ordinary day into a negociating duel with the mastermind behind the crime, Riley.
