After a nuclear disaster caused by several terrorist attacks wipes out most of North America, residents of a small Kansas town have to come to terms with a very different reality.

The fallout from the nuclear blast in Denver will hit Jericho in an hour and Jake has to get the residents inside. The official shelter is not adequate and Jake must find another shelter to protect them. Emily faces troubles of her own while being picked up by who she thinks are two officers.

After seeing a broadcast via satellite from Asia, Jake gathers a group of people together for information gathering. After finding out that there is information out there, Jake suggests having four search parties to go out to get a better understanding what is going on outside of Jericho. The search parties set off in four different directions.

The children of Jericho start to return back to school. A power line that has fallen causes an accident on the playground when the power returns. Jake has an argument with his mother regarding a secret that Jake hasn't disclosed to his dad.