Marseille in 1940 is the setting for the first episode of the Transatlantic television series. Refugees from all across Europe are flooding into the port, turning it into a melting pot of different nationalities. They all gather together in search of travel documents to reach the New World.

In a letter, Ms. Mary Jayne Gold, an American woman, is told by her father to go back to Chicago. In a conversation with Mr. Patterson, she confesses her plans to stay put. She begs him to persuade her father that staying in Marseille is the proper thing to do.

Mary Jayne notices a war-torn refugee (Ursula) in the bathroom and heads in with a piece of bread. Mary-Jayne tells Ursula to head to a ship in the morning – 6 am to be precise. There, she can smuggle in among the cargo. If Ursula talks to Lionel, he’ll be able to get her on.

Mary Jayne admits that there’s no way she can return home, so it almost puts them in the same boat. Almost. Mary Jayne works for the Emergency Rescue Committee. So, it quickly becomes clear that this isn't her first rodeo. In an effort to help her blend in, she even switches clothing with Ursula.

The virtuous American Varian Fry, with whom Mary Jayne is collaborating, wants to accomplish what the US is not currently doing as a neutral nation. He finds motivation from a desire to treat the refugees fairly who are now struggling in the city. Benjamin, who escaped from the prison camps and is presently smoking up a treat in his hotel room, is one of those refugees.

Varian has been here for several months and appears to be the go-between guy for Mary Jayne and the refugees. The officials (including Patterson) getting men and women officially out of Marseille. In that time, Varian has managed to get 11 people out, which isn’t anywhere near enough. They have limited resources (Mary Jayne’s money) and deviating (ie. bringing even more refugees) is only going to stifle their chances of progressing forward.

As 6 am approaches, the refugees descend to meet Lionel. They're to board a rowing boat with some crates of supplies under severe orders. As we all know, their destination is the cargo hold, but they have to remain there until the ship departs. Sadly, there is a difficulty.

Alarms go off as authorities rush to the coast and order the migrants to turn themselves in. Instead, everyone dives into the water. wishing to escape. Sadly, it's the incorrect approach since they all get arrested, shivering in the cold, and angry that they couldn't get away.

Mr. Benjamin is not among them though, but when Mary Jayne finds out about the police round-up, she heads down to the station and pays a pretty hefty bail to free them all. Ursula (the woman Mary Jayne helps) is apart from her brother, Albert. Mary Jayne decides to try and find him so the pair can be together.

That’s easier said than done though when he’s actually in the presence of the French police officer behind the desk. Albert is behind for falsifying documents, but the thing is, there’s nothing fake about him. The Nazis don’t recognize Albert, given he’s a Jew, while the different passports he has, getting into different countries, are all for a higher purpose of either studying economics or fighting in the army.

Transatlantic is now streaming on Netflix.