In a New York City bar, the brooding, mysterious forecaster Mr. Ohman (Dan O'Herlihy) is sitting and drinking from a very large brandy glass. He gets into discussions with a cross-section of affluent Americans at the bar, including local television newscaster Vince Potter (Gerald Mohr), beautiful young New York society woman Carla Sanford (Peggie Castle), a Californian industrialist, a rancher from Arizona, and a Congressman. International news is bad, but these Americans do not want to hear it. While they all dislike Communism and appreciate the material wealth they enjoy, they also want lower taxes and don't see the need for industrial support of government. As he swishes the brandy around his snifter, Ohman tells the others that many Americans want safety and security, but do not want to make any sacrifices for it.
Suddenly the news becomes worse. "The Enemy" is staging air attacks over Seal Point, Alaska and then Nome. Paratroops have landed on Alaskan airfields and an American female communications operator is gunned down in mid-sentence. Soon The Enemy's plan of attack becomes clear: civilian airfields are captured as staging areas while military airfields are A-bombed. The United States fights back and attacks The Enemy's homeland with Convair B-36 missions, but The Enemy steadily moves into Washington and Oregon. Shipyards in Puget Sound are A-bombed with large casualties.
Meanwhile, the Americans at the bar scramble to return to their lives to do what they can against The Enemy, now that it is too late. Potter and Sanford fall for each other ("War or no war, people have to eat and drink ... and make love!"). He continues to broadcast, while she volunteers to help run a blood drive. The industrialist and the rancher both return home to find themselves on the front lines: the former caught in the battle for San Francisco, the latter in the destruction of Boulder Dam by a nuclear missile. The President of the United States makes ineffectual broadcasts with inflated claims of counter-attacks to rally the morale of the people. But things are only going to get worse, much worse. And each American talks about how if they could only do everything over again ...
What is Mr. Ohman drinking from?
very large brandy glass