Two years prior to the events in Freedom a series of major catastrophes had thrown the United States of America into chaos. First, wide scale war in the Middle East. Then the US stock market collapsed, thrusting the country into a period of violence and disarray. Air Force One was shot down, killing the President, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff placed the country under martial law. / The four main characters, Owen Decker (Holt McCallany), James "Jay" Barrett (Darius McCrary), Londo Pearl (Bodhi Elfman), and Becca Shaw (Scarlett Chorvat) were all members of various branches of the military who were imprisoned after refusing to go along with a military coup.