Nuclear war in the United States is portrayed in a realistic and believable manner. The story is told through the eyes of a woman who is struggling to take care of her family. The entire movie takes place in a small suburban town outside San Francisco. After the nuclear attack, contact with the outside world is pretty much cut off.

Flashback sequences were shot with a hand-held Super 8mm camera, to give the effect of a "home movie".

Newscaster:
This is San Francisco. We have lost our New York signal. Radar sources confirm the explosion of nuclear devices there, in New York, and up and down the East Coast. Ladies and gentlemen, this is real. This is...


Emergency Broadcast System Announcer #1:
[interrupting with a high-pitched tone] We interrupt this program at the request of the White House. This is a national emergency. This is an Emergency Action Notification. I repeat, we interrupt this program at the request of the White House. Do not use your telephone. Telephone lines should be kept open for official use. Important instructions will follow.


Carol Wetherly:
[telephone rings] Hello? Tom? Hello?


Emergency Broadcast System Announcer #2:
Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.

[the TV suddenly goes dark, a blinding flash appears outside the living room window, and air raid sirens begin to wail]


Brad Wetherly:
Mom?


Mary Liz Wetherly:
Mom?


Carol Wetherly:
Get away from that window!


Scottie Wetherly:
Mommy!


Carol Wetherly:
Get down on the floor. Get down!


Mary Liz Wetherly:
Was that Dad?


Brad Wetherly:
Is he in San Francisco?


Scottie Wetherly:
I'm scared!


Carol Wetherly:
I don't know. Put your heads down! Cover your eyes! Oh my God. My God.

By John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Courtesy of Mac Len Music
Produced by Andrew Dorfman
Performed by Mitch Weissman