Ben Matheson returns home to his Chicago apartment in a panic telling his wife that the electricity is about to go out. Before it does, he manages to contact his brother Miles and also to download something from the Internet. When the blackout hits, it's a global phenomena - and permanent. Fifteen years later, Ben is living with his children Charlie and Danny is a small rural village. Life is good, even without electricity, until Capt. Tom Neville of the local militia arrives to arrest Ben. Several are killed in the ensuing skirmish and with her brother Danny taken ...
Miles, Charlie, Aaron and Maggie head to Pontiac, Illinois. Miles is hoping to find an old friend, Nora, whose expertise, he says, is absolutely required if they're to rescue Danny. He learns the hard way that General Monroe has put a hefty bounty on his head when a bounty hunter tries to capture him. Miles is prepared to execute him but Charlie convinces him not to, something they will later regret. When they do find Nora, she's working as a slave laborer but she has her own plans. On the way back to their encampment, Captain Neville shows what happens to people who ...
Miles, Nora and Charlie arrive at the rebel camp only to find that many of the fighters were wounded when they walked into a trap earlier that day. They are soon under attack by the militia, led by Jeremy Baker, but the rifle Nora stole keeps them at bay for a good while. When the militia finally get into the building, Miles takes Jeremy prisoner and Miles' own past is revealed. Flashbacks show how Miles, Sebastian Monroe and Jeremy first met. Danny meanwhile comes up against one of the militia soldiers who is bent on revenge. Meanwhile, Aaron and Maggie seek out ...
Miles, Charlie and Nora learn that they are within a day's walk from catching up to Tom Neville and Danny. They keep their rendezvous with Aaron and Maggie but Aaron insists they not tell them about the device. They are beset by mad dogs and their owner who seems intent on killing the trespassers. When he kidnaps Charlie, Miles has little choice but to rescue her. One member of the group will not survive. Danny meanwhile takes shelter with Neville when a storm takes shape. He is presented with an opportunity to escape. Flashbacks reveal when Rachel Matheson ...
After burying their friend, Miles, Charlie and the others continue their quest to rescue Danny. They learn that Monroe now has a working train and Miles is certain Danny will be transported to Philadelphia. Nora contacts a fellow member of the militia and she decides to blow up the train, even if it puts Danny's life in danger. Danny meanwhile is having a hard time with Captain Tom Neville. In flashbacks, Neville's life at the time of the blackout is revealed. He is clearly prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect his wife and son. In Philadelphia, Rachel tells...
Miles, Charlie and Aaron are en route to Philadelphia with an unconscious Nora whose knife wound from the train incident has festered and is in dire need of medical help. Miles decides to stop off at a former partner's armed compound to get Nora the help she needs. His friend Drexel is a heroin dealer who loves to play mind games. He provides Nora with the help that she needs but demands that Charlie kill a neighbor, O'Halloran, who has taken to burning his poppy crops. Charlie has become overly cynical and agrees to do the job despite Miles' objections. In ...
Still on their way to Philadelphia Miles, Charlie, Nora and Aaron come across a band of children who have been on their own since the death of their parents some years before. The eldest among them, Peter, has been forcibly recruited into the militia and taken away. Miles and Charlie agree that they can't set off and leave the children and so decide to try and rescue Peter. At Monroe's headquarters meanwhile, the General and his new intelligence chief Major Tom Neville are unhappy that the information Rachel gave them has yet to produce any of the pendants. In ...
Miles, Charlie, Aaron and Nora arrive at Freeport, Pennsylvania some 290 miles from Philadelphia where a major bridge will let them cross the Allegheny river. They walk into a trap however where militia Sgt. Will Strausser and his men are waiting for them. Strausser has taken Nora's sister Mia prisoner and his price for freeing her is simple: the pendant and Miles Matheson. They free her, but still have to find a way to get across the river. In Philadelphia, Jason Neville is being harshly interrogated and there is little that his father can do - until he gets hold of ...
Having reached the outskirts of Philadelphia, Miles manages to convince the rebels that he can deliver Monroe's head to them. They agree to work with him and are soon traveling through the city's subway system to get into town. They begin to hallucinate when their oxygen supply thins out. They also have to deal with a traitor in their midst. Charlie learns why Miles left the militia. Rachel has agreed to build an amplifier that will expand the power and range of the pendants. Major Neville begins to doubt her sincerity and has a way to test what she's doing.
Miles, Charlie, Aaron and Nora finally make it into downtown Philadelphia and seek shelter with one of the militiamen who might be prepared to help them. Major Tom Neville is one step ahead of them and manages to arrest everyone but Miles who had gone out to explore their surroundings. An imprisoned Charlie is shocked to find her mother in the same cell. Miles forces Neville to release Aaron and Nora and they set off to an old power plant where Charlie, Rachel and Danny are being kept. Munroe get Rachel to build him an amplifier by threatening to kill one or both of ...