[2] Just before Christmas, Sydney Opera House usherette Sharon and her friend Eva meet best mates Brendan and Tony in the midst of an anti-war protest in front of two United States Navy ships.

There are news reports of growing tension between the United States and Soviet Union with fears that one mistake could lead to nuclear war.

There are further news reports that four military targets in Australia – North West Cape, Pine Gap, Nurrungar and Jervis Bay – have been hit by nuclear weapons.

Ordered to stay in the Opera House, the four try to figure out the best way they can survive the escalating conflict, initially hiding in the basement then going to a bar (for which Brendan has the key), getting drunk and playing strip poker, as well as dancing to the cinematic backdrop of Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927 film) during one of its later scenes when an underground workers community faces an apocalyptic flood scenario of its own.

As the sky begins to turn red from firestorms around Sydney and air raid sirens go off, the four, upon hearing an emergency announcement on the radio, join thousands of others taking refuge in the underground Martin Place railway station.