As expected, Red Alert 2 takes place a few years after the events in the original Red Alert. The Allies, victorious in their battles against Joseph Stalin and his Soviet army, have rebuilt the decimated economy and infrastructure of Europe and have installed their own puppet dictator in place of Stalin: General Romanov. To the Allied intelligence, Romanov is nothing more than a consummate politician and the harmless leader of the World Socialist Alliance, a low-profile political group with minimal arms technology. No one could ever perceive him to be a threat.

But Romanov has his own agenda. Outraged at Stalin's failure, Romanov is haunted by memories of his homeland burning and Allied troops marching through his country's streets. He's thirsty for vengeance, and unbeknownst to his Allied puppeteers, Romanov has been mobilizing the World Socialist Alliance into a giant military machine for years and is now only biding his time, waiting for the opportunity to strike. When a civil war breaks out in Mexico, Romanov makes his move.

To the Allies, Romanov's move to quell the outbreak in Mexico (also a WSA state) and restore order to Russia's sister country is expected. Soon after Romanov's troops move in to Mexico, however, reports of early-warning defense systems shutting down throughout the United States begin to surface. Other reports tell of Romanov's troops moving north from Mexico into California, Arizona, and Texas, where they've established mysterious beacons at their encroaching outposts. The population in these outlying areas begins to complain of headaches and nausea, and some witnesses claim that some of their neighbors have picked up arms against their fellow countrymen and joined forces with the invading Soviet forces.

The US government is shocked at Romanov's recent moves and has no logical explanation for this sudden turn of events. Left with no other choice, the President of the United States declares war on the World Socialist Alliance and gives the order to launch a nuclear strike against Russia. However, when the Pentagon moves to strike, nothing happens. The US's entire arsenal of nuclear ICBMs remain dormant, useless, in their silos. Intelligence sources confirm the fears: Romanov has developed a frightening technology that affects man and machine alike; specifically, he has created psychically enhanced troops that can attack with a simple thought.

The United States and the Allied forces are crippled, and Soviet troops are now thoroughly entrenched on American soil. Playing on the side of the Allies, you'll have to fight an uphill battle against well-armed Soviet forces that are threatening to crush your homeland. As the Soviets, you'll use your newly researched psychic technology to hunt down pockets of resistance and make the US pay for its destruction of Mother Russia.