Coined by Dr. R. Adams Cowley, the "golden hour" refers to the first 60 minutes after a severe injury—initiating restorative care in this period means the difference between life and death. This program uses real-time footage and interviews with experts at America’s premier emergency center, the University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma Unit, to track three men’s race against the clock: a police officer shot in the stomach, a construction worker crushed under a truck, and a motorcyclist hit head-on by a car. Along with a computer-animated review of the physiology of uncompensated shock, Drs. Thomas Scalea, the Trauma Unit Director, and Norman McSwain, Tulane University’s Chief Trauma Surgeon, discuss the science behind the "golden hour." Viewer discretion is advised. A Discovery Channel Production. (51 minutes)