Joseph "Blake" Carrington runs an organic mini-farm on the outskirts of a large, southern town. His rustic lifestyle means he is a bit removed from his family: his wife spent the last decade pursuing a career in pediatrics; his teenage daughter, Tracy, wants independence; his 10-year-old son has been raised on television, video games and abundance. It's a typical day of drama and duties when a solar storm cuts power to the farm. Soon after they discover electricity and communications in town are at total blackout as well: Cell phones do not connect, battery powered radios get only static, nothing is transmitting from television networks. There is no way of knowing what is happening, except by word of mouth. All things in the outside world descend into chaos without electricity and communications. Resources diminish. For most a struggle of life and death ensues. The family must pull together and overcome their differences. They must discover what is happening and how they can survive.