A computer hacker, recruited by a shadowy figure, has executed the largest disaster to hit California - completely shutting down the state's vulnerable electrical system. With the outage comes chaos, as record heat waves and the dark of the night create a city by city panic. As residents across the West Coast fight to survive, Agent Strickland of Homeland Security's Cyber Terrorism Division enlists a squadron of experts to outwit the conspiratorial source of the blackout.