In the mid-1980s, the U.S. is poised on the brink of nuclear war. This shadow looms over the residents of a small town in Kansas as they continue their daily lives. Dr. Russell Oakes maintains his busy schedule at the hospital, Denise Dahlberg prepares for her upcoming wedding, and Stephen Klein is deep in his graduate studies. When the unthinkable happens and the bombs come down, the town's residents are thrust into the horrors of nuclear winter.
The life of young newlywed, Fern O'Neil, is turned upside-down when her husband is called home to visit his dying father in Ireland. When she fails to receive a phone call from her husband, she contacts the airline and discovers he was not on the plane. Further investigation reveals that her husband is not who she thought he was. Her search ultimately takes her all the way to Ireland, where her sanity and, of course, her story come into question.
In a badly-overpopulated future, where each couple is only allowed one child and where people over 65 are forbidden medical care under a very draconian set of laws, a young couple, pregnant with their second child (the first died shortly after birth) enlist the help of an elderly former US Senator to help them escape to Canada.
