Synopsis

When the ozone layer reaches levels of depletion that critically endanger human life, Director Cartwright of Health and Safety pressures the United States government to introduce countermeasures. His idea: relocate family units into subterranean bunkers, sequestering them from the harsh radiation as well as each other. He utilizes the media influence of Newscaster to communicate these ideas to the general populus while Newscaster is unsure of Cartwright’s intent. Ennis Goggins of New Mexico is one of many who find folly in the idea, but go along with it nonetheless. As he raises his daughter—Lana, who’s never known a life outside the bunker—Ennis is faced with the consequences of the move (“End of the World”). Lana dreams of the outside world as she imagines it to be, a fantasy fed by her books and the Newscaster’s reporting. She pines for the freedom of a life in a world now long gone and hopes for any chance to be a person of her own as her father still treats her like a young child (“Life I Want”).

A glimmer of hope for Lana emerges from the heat when Cartwright and Newscaster announce the conditions are safe enough to host an event for people to socialize, and that event will be a beauty pageant where someone will be crowned Little Miss Apocalypse. It will be hosted nearby in Silver City (“Little Miss Apocalypse”). Lana is willing to take any chance necessary to participate, but Ennis, knowing the melted landscape that awaits beyond the bunker doors, forbids her from leaving; he offers instead a future of safety and continued obedience at home (“Denial”). Disappointed in her father’s obstinance, Lana runs away from home to find the contest (“Lana Leaves”). Newscaster presents for the audience a chronicle of the events of Lana’s journey and the difficulties of the outside world as she travels across the boiling New Mexico hardpan. Ennis quickly discovers his daughter’s actions, pursuing after her (“What Lies Beyond”). Upon arriving in Silver City, Cartwright descends upon Lana as well, giving her the hard truth of life before the apocalypse (“Silver City”).

Lana finds Silver City empty besides Newscaster and Cartwright, who tell her that she is the sole participant to arrive for the contest. The pageant plays out regardless, and Lana inevitably wins (“The Pageant”). As the fervor of celebration fades, Lana realizes her high is not dopamine but heatstroke, and that she has no energy left to make it back to a place of safety (“See I Won”). Ennis finds her in feeble condition, with Newscaster and Cartwright standing to the side. He berates the two authority figures for their role in the situation before coming to his senses. Newscaster and Cartwright are far below the surface (if they’re even still alive); there never was any beauty pageant; it was all a hallucination brought on by heat breaching their bunker. Ennis and Lana succumb to their condition (“Love Stings”).