Panic in Year Zero!

Harry Baldwin, his wife Ann, and their children Rick and Karen leave suburban LA with a small camping trailer. They hope for a peaceful fishing trip in the Sierra Nevada. The day begins with optimism as the family drives toward the mountains.

A few hours into the drive, unusually bright lights fill the sky and radio stations go to static. CONELRAD broadcasts hint at the start of atomic war, and the family watches as a distant mushroom cloud rises over Los Angeles. It becomes clear that the crisis is real and escalating.

At a small town diner, the Baldwins eat and try to learn what is happening. News reports confirm the bombings and growing chaos in major cities. They debate whether to stay with relatives or press on to the mountains for safety.

Harry tries to purchase tools and guns with a personal check, but Ed Johnson refuses to sell until payment is verified. A struggle breaks out and, with Rick's help, Harry escapes with the guns, promising to pay later. The incident shows how quickly law and order collapse under pressure.

At a gas station, the attendant price gouges travelers amid rising panic. Unable to pay for all the fuel they want, Harry forcibly takes some fuel while leaving behind as much cash as he can. The act underscores how desperation pushes people to break norms in a broken world.

Three hoodlums, Carl, Mickey, and Andy, threaten the Baldwins but are beaten back by the family's defenses. The confrontation foreshadows the danger that will stalk the family as civil order erodes. The trio continues on, wary of further encounters.

After a long journey, the Baldwins reach their mountain retreat and discover the trailer offers little protection from fallout. They haul supplies into a nearby cave and settle in, waiting for civil order to return. The family makes a makeshift shelter in the cave to endure the blackout.

Ed Johnson and his wife set up camp nearby, but the hoodlums arrive and murder them. The violence underscores that survival now means danger can be imminent anywhere. The loss tightens the fragile new social order in the area.

While doing laundry, Ann's blouse floats downstream, drawing the hoodlums' attention to the Baldwins' camp. They accost the family, but Ann scares them off with a rifle. The close call underscores how danger looms just outside their shelter.

The Baldwins meet Marilyn, a teenage girl who has been kept captive in a nearby farmhouse. She reveals her parents were killed by the hoodlums, and she is freed and brought to the cave. Marilyn is welcomed into the household, offering companionship in the isolation.

Carl forces Marilyn to drop her rifle, but Marilyn seizes the moment, kills Carl, and ends his threat. In the confrontation, Rick is shot in the leg, adding a new injury to the family. The violence escalates as Marilyn proves her resolve.

The group travels to find Doctor Strong in a nearby town. Strong stabilizes Rick but warns that Rick will die without a blood transfusion. The closest facility capable of performing the procedure is an Army hospital over 100 miles away, making their journey perilous.

An Army patrol stops the Baldwins for questioning and, after a tense exchange, allows them to continue. The soldiers note that the family survived radiation by sheltering in the mountains, calling them among the 'good ones.' The moment underscores the fragile judgment in a postwar world.

With Rick stabilized and a plan to reach the hospital in motion, the Baldwins press on despite remaining dangers. They rely on each other and dwindling resources as they push toward help. The trek reinforces the film's grim and hopeful tension between survival and uncertainty.

The film closes with an end title declaring that ‘There must be no end – only a new beginning.’ The message suggests resilience and the need to endure in a shattered world. The Baldwins’ fate remains open, underscoring a world where survival demands continued effort and hope.