When Russian missiles were discovered in Cuba in 1962, a standoff began. W5's Lloyd Robertson looks at how close we came to nuclear war. A terrifying letter from Cuba and the downing of a U.S. spy plane made nuclear war seem imminent. But how did world leaders avoid catastrophe?

Includes bonus W5 Extended interview with Sergei Khrushchev:

Sergei Khrushchev, son of former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, talks about how the U.S. and Soviets realized the dangers of a pre-emptive strike.