Throughout the ages, Sol, our sun, has nurtured life on this planet, Earth. But what happens when the sun's rays turn from nurturing to devastating? The sun is at the height of its 11-year cycle of activity but this time it is not only unusually active, but there is an unknown, nearly invisible gas that is simultaneously crossing the solar system. This massive gas of undetermined origin and makeup serves to greatly magnify this radiation as it heads toward earth. The effect? All life on this planet is suddenly in danger and survival of any kind becomes questionable. Any unprotected plant or animal life succumbs to the sun's devastating rays. Soon, there isn't even enough to eat. Civilization, as we know it, is turned into a terrible chaos. Survival becomes a matter of protecting one's family from, perhaps man's greatest enemy, his own neighbors. As millions across the world struggle daily to live another day, a small group of brave families hunker down in Dr. Toomey's well-designed underground fortress. These pioneers have been hand-picked by the Doctor and must face the challenges of living secretly in their small underground community. The group remarkably maintains some of the same benefits of modern living that they enjoyed before the disaster. They enjoy a small library, as well as a school and have a workout room, an infirmary and even a lounge. Each family has private motel room-like quarters for privacy and all have assigned duties that keeps their society functioning. The group even maintains a sizeable garden to grow their own food and has goats and chickens for fresh eggs and milk. But soon, circumstances force members of the group to venture into town and face the uncertainties of the outside world. In town a variety of great surprises await them. They meet other survivors who share their tales of horror and meet other unlikely heroes who prove that they can greatly benefit the group. Once back at the compound, the pioneers' underground sec