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It's May 21st, 1962 in Moscow.

Inside the Kremlin, Nikita Kruzchev strides down a long corridor full of marble and glass chandeliers.

The Soviet leader passes under a towering golden arch.

And as he rounds a corner, Kruzchev approaches a pair of guards, who stand aside and pull open a heavy wooden door.

Kruzchev then enters a large room where he finds a group of about a dozen men sitting around a wooden table.

One of the men rises and offers Kruzchev a glass of his favorite vodka.

It's attempting offer, Kruzchev does love to drink, but the Soviet premiere waves away the glass.

There is business at hand and the vodka must wait.

As Kruzchev takes a seat, he gives a quick nod to his group of advisors.

They're known as the prosidium, and they're some of the most important officials in the country.

But despite wielding enormous power, the men look anxious and off-balance.

But that was all part of the plan.

Kruzchev summoned his advisors for a secret meeting and did not tell them what it was about.

He knows they're probably afraid, and that's useful.

Kruzchev wanted his men to be a little out of sorts.

It should make them easier to sway, and Kruzchev needs them to get on board a dangerous operation,

one that could cement his reputation as a strong leader.

The whole situation began when the United States placed its nuclear missiles in Turkey.

Those missiles were pointed at Moscow and could wipe out the Soviet capital in a matter of minutes.

It's an existential threat to the country, and making matters worse,

the Soviet's own arsenal of nuclear weapons is in dire straits.

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