Radioactive Dreams

Philip and Marlowe grow up inside a mountain fallout shelter after a nuclear war wipes out the world. They fill their days with 1950s detective stories and swing music that guide their sense of life. Years pass as they learn to navigate the ruined landscape beyond their door.

On April 1, 2010, Marlowe finally digs out the cave entrance and steps into the world. The landscape is barren, with the trees gone and the air tinged with ash. The two boys brace themselves for a new life outside the shelter.

The first outsider they meet is Miles Archer, a radiation-burned woman who saves them from danger. She uses a kiss and distraction to steal Marlowe’s gun, accidentally dropping the activation keys for the last nuclear missile. Miles leaves, leaving the boys with a dangerous clue about their past.

Before they can process the encounter, the pair are ambushed by a biker gang of bald women in red wigs. The attack tests their resourcefulness and courage as they decide how to handle the keys now in play. After a tense skirmish, the gang disperses.

In the aftermath, the boys discover activation keys for the last nuclear missile bearing their fathers’ names. The find excites Marlowe and unsettles Philip, complicating their feelings about the past. The keys become a tangible link to a world neither fully understands.

They rescue Rusty Mars from a group of armed ‘disco mutants’ and she becomes a new ally and interest. She leads them toward Edge City, where life seems to continue in the ruins. Rusty’s presence adds a dash of romance and danger to their journey.

In Edge City they seek refuge in a dance club but are captured by cannibals who crave uncontaminated meat and want the nuclear keys. Rusty helps them escape, though trust remains brittle between the trio and their new surroundings. The club scene exposes the city’s other dangers.

Miles shows up at their hideout and explains the true purpose of the keys, escalating the danger. She threatens to kill them to seize the keys, but the trio manages to escape the confrontation. The tension between trust and betrayal drives their next move.

Rusty has followed them to the hideout and is attacked by the child gangsters, forcing a quick escape. Philip remains distrustful of Miles and the new alliances, while Marlowe grows torn between loyalty and curiosity. The threats from Edge City’s underworld intensify.

Philip and Marlowe decide to rid Edge City of the gangs by drawing them to an abandoned warehouse as bait. The plan mostly works, with the gangs killing each other off and weakening Miles’ hold. The setting becomes a crucible where loyalties are tested.

Amid the carnage, the bosses of the child gangsters are revealed to be the boys’ own fathers. As Philip’s father dies, he tells him that the past doesn’t matter and that life can be reimagined. The revelation shatters their resolve about vengeance and revenge.

Miles shoots at the boys in a final standoff but is killed when Marlowe’s shot rings true. The city ultimately returns to a fragile balance as the last threat falls away. The two boys’ bitter memories begin to soften in the face of a possible future.

Philip lets go of his anger and adopts Marlowe’s optimistic outlook, performing a post-nuke shuffle for the crowd. They vow to become detectives and search for Rusty to repair their relationship. The keys are hidden in a secret location, kept in case a future jam ever calls for them.