Early December, 1979.

Almost a month ago, students and protesters broke into the American Embassy in Iran.

They took the employees and foreign nationals inside Hostage.

This was in the middle of the Iranian Revolution,

but it was also the beginning of the longest Hostage crisis in history.

The Iranian students had released 13 hostages,

but there was no escape for the other 53.

Watching it all unfold from the safety of the Canadian Embassy were six Americans.

Mark and Korolajik, Joe and Kathy Stafford, Bob Anders and Lee Shots.

Sheer Luck had helped them escape their initial capture,

but every day they spent hiding in plain sight was endangering themselves,

and their Canadian hosts.

The longer we stayed, the greater the odds were that something like that would happen.

I had the sense that Washington had forgotten about us.

Welcome to Covert, a show about the shadowy world of international espionage

and top secret military operations.

Tony introduced himself as Kevin Harkins.

He started off, I think, very business-like.

He said he had come there to take us out.

I'm Jamie Rennell, and I'm going to take you inside history's greatest special forces missions

to learn about the brave soldiers and operatives who risked their lives

to terminate the world's most wanted, eliminate terrorist threats,

...