The time is near present; the locale an isolated military community in the Nevada desert. Jon Chase, idealistic arts commissioner, has just been hired to bring culture to the town of Tilton.

But Tilton is not your average little community. Though the Cold War is over, the Atomic Diner still features Fallout Burgers. Underground explosions still shatter the night. Years of testing have poisoned the ground - and some of Jon's neighbors. As he and his wife, Peg, try to protect their young children, Jon faces his own struggles in bringing art to the conservative-minded denizens of an army base.

The military leaders, especially the super-patriotic Major Donaldson, are resistant to Jon's plans. The townspeople, about to lose their economic base, have settled into anxiety and inertia. When Peg Chase initiates a women's group to protest the testing, the community is finally energized. But Pegs's growing political activism threatens to touch off its own explosions, both public and private.