Ralph Burton is a miner who is trapped for several days as a result of a cave-in. When he finally manages to dig himself out, he realizes that all of mankind seems to have been destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. He travels to New York City only to find it deserted. Making a life for himself there, he is flabbergasted to eventually find Sarah Crandall, who also managed to survive. Together, they form a close friendship until the arrival of Benson Thacker who has managed to pilot his small boat into the city's harbor. At this point the tensions rise between the three, particularly between Thacker, who is white and Burton, who is black
影片前三十分钟，镜头里还都是拉尔夫一个人，这个过程中我拿威尔·史密斯的《我是传奇》对比了一下，我是传奇里还有一只狗陪伴，而陪伴拉尔夫的只有两个人形模具。加上黑白色调的画面，这种巨大的荒凉和孤独侵入骨髓。
三十分钟之后女主的出现，似乎给拉尔夫带来的希望，但是也伴随着种族歧视和矛盾，直到第三个主角本的出现，彻底将影片推向高潮，同时矛盾也进一步激化。
当世界只剩下两男一女，为了获得交配权，道德、法律、人伦还会不会存在？导演在涵盖这么多的命题里并没有给出很好得解释，而是安排了一场决斗，最终以拉尔夫看到了墙上出现圣经里关于和平的语句放弃了战斗而结束。1959年，是二战结束不久也是冷战时期，是的，导演是热爱和平的。同样，热爱和平的也不仅仅是导演一个人。
当你为了取得交配权或者某些利益而拿起武器去杀死自己同类的时候，你已经是恶魔了。
已是空城的纽约，实际上也是另一个丛林，只不过丛林变成了一栋栋矗立的高楼。互相依赖的同时也互相争斗，这种争斗对屏幕前的观众来说，是多重期待的，比如A死，B死，A离开，B离开，AB同归于尽，只是这些多重期待在导演的镜头都一一落空（不剧透了）。