Kathie Rauch (Ruth Schudson), a psychic from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sends a letter to the Embassy of Germany, Washington, D.C. in Washington, D.C. claiming the ''Hindenburg'' Zeppelin will explode after flying over New York City. In the meantime, ''Luftwaffe'' Colonel Franz Ritter (George C. Scott) boards with the intention of protecting the ''Hindenburg'' as various threats have been made to down the airship, which some see as a symbol of Nazi Germany.