The story revolves around Eli, a nomad in a post-apocalyptic world who seeks to deliver his copy of a mysterious book to a safe location on the West Coast of the United States.

Thirty years after a nuclear holocaust caused an ecocide, Eli travels on foot across the wasteland of the former United States.

Searching for water, he arrives in a ramshackle town ruled by a warlord named Carnegie, who seeks to control the people through the power of a certain book, which his henchmen have been unable to find.

In the morning, Carnegie overhears Solara repeating the prayer to her mother and realizes Eli has the book he has been seeking: a Bible.

Solara catches up to Eli and leads him to the town's water supply, hoping to accompany him, but he traps her inside and continues alone.

He says that he was led to the book by a voice in his head, directing him to travel westward to a place to be safe, and assuring him that he would be protected and guided on his journey.

At an isolated house, Eli and Solara fall into a trap but manage to allay the suspicions of the residents, George and Martha, who invite them in for tea.

Realizing that George and Martha are cannibals, Eli and Solara attempt to leave just as Carnegie and his men arrive.

Threatening to kill Solara, Carnegie forces Eli to surrender the Bible before shooting him and leaving him for dead, departing with his caravan.

Claudia, feigning ignorance of Braille, tells Carnegie that his leg wound has become infected and the loss of his enforcers has led the people to run amok.

Offered sanctuary on Alcatraz, Solara chooses instead to return home, taking up Eli's machete and other possessions.

[8] Subsequently, Anthony Peckham rewrote the script, and in September 2008 Denzel Washington won the lead role.

Club, Scott Tobias graded the film a B and wrote, "At a time when theaters are experiencing a glut of doomsday scenarios, the Hughes' ashen, bombed-out future world looks a little too familiar, no matter how crisply they present it.

Created and written by Whitta, who was to serve as an executive producer, the series would be set decades before the film, and once again center around the titular character.