The novel “On the Beach” by Nevil Shute was published for the first time in 1957, first in four parts on the weekly periodical “Sunday Graphic” and later as a book in an expanded version.

After a nuclear war devastated the world, the northern hemisphere has become uninhabitable after the areas that weren’t destroyed by the bombs were struck by the radioactive fallout killing anyone who had survived the attacks. Some areas of the southern hemisphere are still habitable but it seems only a matter of time before the wind currents carry radioactive particles everywhere.

One of the last American nuclear submarines, the USS Scorpion, was made available to the Australian Navy by his commander, Dwight Towers. When in Australia a radio signal in Morse code from the American city of Seattle is picked up, Towers is sent to investigate. Lieutenant Commander Peter Holmes of the Australian Navy is assigned to the USS Scorpion for the mission but is worried about his wife and little daughter because the news about the winds indicate that Australia won’t be habitable for a long time.