A teenage astronomerElijah Wood) and his teacher, discover an object in the night sky. Little did they know that it was a comet in the process of coalition with Earth.
The teacher dies in a car accident, on his way to report his discovery.
Simultaneously, the President of the United States (Morgan freeman) announced the existence of the comet, assuring the population that there is no need to panic, since NASA will send the Messiah expedition, made up of a group of astronauts and experts, into space to destroy the comet before it collides with the Earth.
In the event that the Messiah mission fails, gigantic caves have been built deep in the earth, where 800,000 randomly selected people will be housed, who will coexist with 200,000 scientists and professionals, to save humanity from extinction.