One year after foiling the terrorist takeover of a high-rise office building in the first movie, McClane is waiting to pick up his wife at Dulles International Airport just outside Washington on Christmas Eve. Scheduled to arrive the same evening is Ramon Esperanza, a South American political figure who is being brought to the United States to stand trial for his role in a drug-smuggling ring. However, a group of terrorists, led by renegade American military officer Col. Stuart, take control of the airport, scuttling radio transmissions and placing their own men in the control tower. John McClaine tries to stop an elite commando group from kidnapping a big-Time drug dealer and taking him to the caribbean.