Russia is being terrorized by an evil witch known as Baba Yaga; the only one who is not afraid of her is Bartok the Magnificent. Bartok, an albino bat, has just arrived in Moscow and is impressing everyone with his performances, including Prince Ivan Romanov. However, one person is not impressed; Ludmilla finds Bartok annoying and naive. After Bartok's show, a violent bear suddenly attacks. Bartok must save everyone by stunning the bear with dust and then knocks him over and traps him in a wagon.
With the discovery of an incoming asteroid, the government of America formulate a plan to destroy it. When the plan fails, all the world can do is wait. The main impact zone is revealed to be Dallas, Texas. Generally, the plot follows the lives and reactions of several characters: an astronomer, her father, her son, two firefighters from Kansas, two young doctors in Dallas and the heads of the government agency in charge of the situation.
A recently widowed doctor moves with her daughter to start at a new hospital. While there a loving mother brings her son in for treatment. The doctor suspects that there is something wrong, and theorizes that the mother is deliberately making her son sick so that she could bring him to the hospital for the attention that it gives her. When the doctor decides to restrict the mother's access to her son and is reporting her to child services, the mother in turn decides to sue the doctor and the hospital. And some of the hospital board don't agree with her diagnosis or think that she's over-reacting. And even while the mother's not allowed access to her son, he is still sick, so is the doctor right or wrong?
