Mt Paektu an active volcano straddling the China-North Korea border , suddenly erupts, causing severe earthquakes in both North and South Korea. Pandemonium ensues on the Korean Peninsula with more eruptions predicted in the area. To prevent another disaster, Jeon Yoo-kyung plans an operation based on a theory by Professor Kang Bong-rae , who had studied Mt. Baekdu and its possible future eruptions.
Jo In-chang is assigned to be the captain of a special forces team taking part in the operation. Jo In-chang contacts Lee Joon-pyeong who is part of the Korean People's Army in North Korea as a spy. Meanwhile, Jo In-Chang's pregnant wife Choi Ji-young is alone in Seoul and struggling to survive amidst the disaster.
In-Chang departs with his team on a plane, and they parachute after their airplane malfunctions. They locate Joon-pyeong, who was being held in a North Korean prison, and seek his knowledge in finding the correct mine closest to Mt. Paektu's caldera.After threatening his dying wife to disclose the location of his daughter, Joon-pyeong guides In-chang's team to a power station, and they extract a piece of uranium from a nuclear missile. This alerts the American garrison in South Korea, who sends soldiers to stop Joon-pyeong from delivering the uranium piece to several gangsters from China.
In-chang and Joon-pyeong evade the Americans and reach Bocheon ,a town near Mt. Paektu. Joon-pyeong meets his frightened daughter, and just as the Chinese gangsters almost kill him for failing to deliver the uranium, In-chang gives the uranium, but sets its timer to coincide with Mt. Paektu's eruption. Although the American soldiers also arrive to take the uranium, they and the Chinese gangsters flee when Mt. Baekdu erupts again, triggering more earthquakes. In-chang and Joon-pyeong bring the uranium to a mine with Joon-pyeong takes the bomb into the mine's depths, leaving In-chang to go with Joon-pyeong's daughter, whom he adopts. The uranium bomb explodes and stops the earthquakes, saving many lives.
One year later, North and South Korea together oversee the reconstruction of the peninsula. In-chang and Ji-young have a baby son.
