What three people find out about the world's impending doom?
Geophysicist Dr. Josh Keyes and scientists Dr. Serge Leveque and Dr. Conrad Zimsky become aware of an instability of Earth's magnetic field after a series of bizarre incidents across the globe. They determine that the Earth's molten core, which generates this field, has stopped rotating and that, within a year, the field will collapse, exposing the planet's surface directly to devastating solar radiation. Backed by the U.S. Government, Keyes, Leveque, and Zimsky create a plan to bore down to the core and set off several nuclear explosions to restart the rotation. They gain the help of rogue scientist Dr. Ed "Braz" Brazzelton, who has devised a vessel made of "Unobtainium" that can withstand the heat and pressure within the Earth's crust and convert it to energy, as well as a laser-driven boring system that will allow them to quickly pass through the crust.
Construction starts immediately on the Virgil, a multi-compartment vessel to be helmed by Space Shuttle Endeavour pilots Commander Robert Iverson and Major Rebecca "Beck" Childs, who will join Keyes and the others. To prevent a worldwide panic, Keyes enlists computer hacker Theodore Donald "Rat" Finch to scour the Internet and eliminate all traces of the pending disaster or their plan.
Dr. Josh Keyes Dr. Serge Leveque Dr. Conrad Zimsky