Late one night on a rural road in the western US, a policeman sets up a roadblock and begins stopping all traffic. When several cars and a big truck have stopped, he tells everyone why: a nuclear attack on the US appears to be underway, and since they have the truck there, their best chance at survival is to use it as a bomb shelter. Time is short and tensions in the small group quickly rise.

While searching for a small fortune of embezzled money, an ex-con, a small-time bandleader, his doting wife and a kooky drifter find themselves being followed. Their chase takes them to trailer camps, bingo halls, laundromats and ultimately, a showdown with a group of unconventional bad guys.

Following World War III, four survivors at an desert military installation attempt to drive across the desolate wasteland of America to Albany, where they hope more survivors are living, using a specially built vehicles to protect themselves against the freakish weather, mutated plant and animal life, and other dangers encountered along the way.