Caltech seismologist Dr. Lawrence Hayes and his colleague Dr. Kim Park are at Hoover Dam testing a new earthquake predicting model when a nearby and previously unknown fault ruptures, triggering a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that collapses the dam; Park is killed shortly after rescuing a child. Hayes discovers that the entire San Andreas Fault is shifting and will soon cause a series of major earthquakes, potentially destroying cities along the fault line. He begins racing to warn the population of California alongside his students, Alexi and Phoebe, and reporter Serena Johnson.
