The World, the Flesh and the Devil

Ralph Burton is trapped by a cave-in in a Pennsylvania coal mine. He can hear rescuers digging toward him, but after five days their efforts slow down and stop, and the pumps keeping the shaft from flooding fail. Faced with a dwindling hope of rescue, he begins to dig his own way out.

Ralph emerges to a city devoid of people, living or dead. He scavages discarded newspapers and discovers headlines hinting at a global catastrophe and the collapse of civilization. The absence of humanity makes rescue seem impossible and loneliness seem inevitable.

From taped broadcasts on a radio station, Ralph learns that an unknown country dispersed radioactive isotopes into the atmosphere. The lethal dust cloud spreads globally, killing anyone who comes into contact with it over five days, before decaying to harmlessness. The world is effectively wiped clean of people, leaving a silent, empty city behind.

Ralph travels to New York City hoping to find survivors but finds none. He restores power to a ruined building and takes up residence, rebuilding utilities to make living possible in an otherwise lifeless city.

To stave off loneliness, Ralph places mannequins in his apartment and treats them as companions. After a time, he hurls one from the building and hears a scream from the street, revealing a living observer who has been watching him.

Sarah Crandall, a young White woman, had been secretly living in the city and observing Ralph for some time. She is afraid to reveal herself, and her scream earlier caused Ralph to realize someone else may be alive.

Ralph and Sarah form a cautious friendship and gradually grow closer while maintaining separate apartments. Their conversations expose the persisting racial tensions from a segregated society, including Sarah's remark about being 'free, white, and 21' and Ralph's painful reaction.

Ralph continues broadcasting on the radio in the hope of contacting other survivors. He eventually receives a transmission in French confirming there are others still alive somewhere.

Benson Thacker, an ill white man, arrives by boat and Ralph and Sarah nurse him back to health. His presence disrupts the fragile balance between Ralph and Sarah as he becomes a potential romantic rival.

Once recovered, Ben fixates on Sarah and sees Ralph as a rival. He warns Ralph that the next time they meet, he will try to kill him.

The two armed men hunt each other through the empty streets. Ralph passes by the United Nations headquarters, climbs the steps in Ralph Bunche Park, and reads the Isaiah inscription about beating swords into plowshares.

Ralph finally confronts Ben unarmed after discarding his rifle, but Ben discovers he cannot shoot. Sarah arrives, and together the three walk down the street toward a possible future, choosing to face a new beginning rather than further violence.

The film ends not with The End but with The Beginning, as Ralph, Sarah, and Ben walk together into dawn toward building a future in this post-apocalyptic world.