Once again, Jack's back.

"24" has been off the air for nearly 20 months, and the seventh season doesn't begin until Jan. 11. To tide fans over, Jack Bauer returns in a two-hour movie, that, like the series, unfolds in real time.

Jack (Kiefer Sutherland), avoiding a subpoena to appear before a Senate subcommittee, is living in the fictional African country of Sangala. The world-weary former federal agent is working at a school run by old friend Carl Benton (Robert Carlyle).

Back in the U.S., it's Inauguration Day for new President Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones). Before long, these two disparate story lines are intricately and mysteriously connected.

"Redemption" re-establishes Jack as a heroic figure. When a rebel group, funded by some nefarious characters, begins a coup attempt, the children at the school are in danger. The rebels want the students for an army. Jack must lead the children to safety.

"It is a western," said executive producer Howard Gordon. "Jack is cast in the role of the hero who has hung up his six-guns but whose past won't let him go."

The violent unrest in Sangala will be a key plot point of Season 7, which will begin with Jack on trial for the illegal detention and torture of prisoners. The thought-to-be-very-dead Tony (Carlos Bernard) will return — except this time he's on the wrong team.

"It's a bit of a 'Heart of Darkness' story," Gordon said. "Somebody that Jack knew, who has gone to a dark side and who Jack is enlisted to hunt down."

Gordon conceded it was a "risk" to make a fan favorite a villain, but the story came alive with Tony in it. "Hopefully the audience will go along for the ride."

For theater actress Jones, playing the president has been a thrill ride.

"With '24' there's no past, there's no future, there's literally just that moment," said the Tony Award-winning actress. "You come in to '24' knowing so little about your character. I didn't know what state I was from. I didn't know how many children I had. I didn't know whether I was a good guy or a bad guy."

Note: "24: Redemption" will be released on DVD on Tuesday (20th Century Fox). While the civil war portrayed in the movie is fictional, the plight of child soldiers is real. The DVD features a documentary that was made in conjunction with UNICEF and Human Rights First about child soldiers.