Nuclear physicist Frank Addison (Gene Barry, The War of the Worlds) and his wife are living every parent's worst nightmare: their son Tommy (Lee Aaker, TV's The Adventures Of Rin Tin Tin) has been kidnapped. The kidnapper's ransom demands are the secrets behind the H-bomb! The desperate scramble to rescue Tommy unfolds at a rapid pace in The Atomic City...from the streets of Los Angeles to cliff dwelling of Santa Fe; the real-life locations provide the vivid backdrops for this taut and suspenseful thriller. Director Jerry Hopper (Pony Express) makes his feature film debut.

An acclaimed nuclear physicist (Barry) at the Los Alamos research facility is part of an elite group of scientists with knowledge of nuclear weaponry. It is his skills as a father that come in to play, however, when terrorists kidnap his young son (Aaker). Hiding out in the surrounding hills, the culprits demand the plans to the H-bomb as ransom and threaten the boy's life if not delivered to their satisfaction.