to the escalating crisis in Iran, and buy a small flat where they plan to start their family, although the growing crisis increasingly alarms them as the situation escalates. Tensions escalate rapidly after the expiry of an American ultimatum to the Soviet Union, and U.S. bombers attack the Soviet base at Mashad, resulting in the use of battlefield nuclear weapons by both sides. Naval engagements between both sides soon follow. News of the breakout of hostilities between the U.S. and Soviet forces spurs Britain into panic buying and looting. The British Government enacts the Emergency Powers Act, and local authorities are granted powers to suspend peacetime function and confiscate property and material for civil defence purposes. Anti-war protests are violently suppressed by the authorities. All non-essential phone lines are cut. Travel is restricted to essential services only. In Sheffield, local officials and the head of the city council move to underground offices beneath the town hall meant to serve as the headquarters for the local government after a nuclear war. Civil defence films showing how to prepare for a nuclear attack soon become the only programme airing on radio and television stations. Ruth’s family prepares to shelter in their basement while Jimmy’s family builds an indoor shelter using doors and mattresses. While the public prepares for nuclear war, the Soviet navy sinks a U.S carrier, the British Government sends troops to Europe, anti-Soviet riots damage Soviet embassies and the Soviet Union blockades West Berlin. In the morning of May 26th, Attack Warning Red is transmitted. Minutes later, a single nuclear warhead detonates above the North Sea, which generates an electromagnetic pulse, causing major damage to communications across Britain and north-western Europe. A second wave of attacks target NATO military installations in Europe, including RAF Finningley, 17 miles from Sheffield. The detonation and mushroom cloud are seen from Sheffield, which plunges into chaos. A third and final attack destroys primary economic targets such as the Tinsley Viaduct. This third attack causes massive structural damage to Sheffield; the blast and heat kill an estimated 12 to 30 million people in the U.K. in the wider exchange. An hour following the attack, prevailing winds have sent fallout from a ground burst at Crewe over Sheffield causing thousands of unprotected survivors to die of radiation sickness. Communications between local authorities are shown to be established but limited due to disruption. Fires are left to