After a series of small tremors in Los Angeles, Dr. Clare Winslow, a local seismologist, pinpoints the exact location and time of when the long awaited earthquake--"The Big One"--will strike southern California. With this information, she must battle city officials to release this information to the general public. Also, she hopes that her family is out of harms way when the quake strikes. Subplots show how other families and people cope with the the tremors that strike before the impending "Big One." 洛杉矶地区经历了几次微小的地震后，地质学家克莱尔·温斯蕾即发现一场极具灾难性的大地震|巨型小子|即将在南加州爆发，她必须在灾难发生之前，以确凿的事实说服城市官员，将此讯息尽快传达给公众，心急如梦的她也希望自己的家人能够逃脱这场世纪性的灾难， 此为序幕，一场惊心动魄的与自然灾难斗争的故事开始了。
