Brian Owens was once a prominent professor of quantum mechanics until an accident stripped him of his credentials; he now teaches at a community college. In order to reclaim his stature, he is trying to build the world's first teleportation machine in his garage at night. All of this while being romantically pursued by one of the art professors at the college, avoiding the crazy old lady next door, and being harassed by the loan sharks he borrowed money from to build his machine. But his biggest problem is he can't get his machine to work.
Admiral McKee is retired, when following the events of 9/11 he receives a call from the White House informing him that his commander in chief requires him to serve his country once again. Shortly after this he is sworn into office as a senior member of the Office of Homeland Security under Tom Ridge. Once in office Admiral McKee faces the challenge of organizing this new office so as to prevent further terrorist attacks against the United States. With this in mind, Admiral McKee's wife recommends he speaks to his friend, NSA Agent Sol Binder.
A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.