Professor Aaron Christie has devoted his career to developing an earthquake early warning system for Los Angeles. On the eve of Aaron’s sabbatical in Utah, where he will work with a team examining earthquake risk in a region where a nuclear plant may soon be built, his wife Lila abandons him and their four-year-old son Eddie. Suddenly responsible for Eddie and still reeling from the shock of Lila’s disappearing act, Aaron manages to relocate himself and his son to Salt Lake City, but there he soon faces more questions about his relationships with both his wife and his work. Fully absorbed in teaching, conducting research, and working to justify his efforts to skeptical colleagues, Aaron must also struggle to recover from a personal disaster he did not predict, and come to terms with the hazards he may not always be able to protect Eddie from.