David Kotzman (Jeff Fahey) is a geophysicist for NASA in Miami, conducting experiments in a high-tech lab researching the origins of the ancient ice ages. After a natural weather disaster in Antarctica, David is sent by the government to investigate the cause of the occurrence. What he discovers is almost impossible to believe - his calculations lead him to conclude that the rotation of the earth is in the midst of an incredibly rapid shift, and that the axis of the planet is changing so that the temperature around the equator will drop in the span of a few days to -273 degrees, scientifically referred to as Absolute Zero.

David tries to convince the government to evacuate millions of people from the most populated area of the United States, but his plan is met with complete resistance and denial. In an act of desperation, David scrambles through the city to get his loved ones, including his former partner Bryn (Erika Eleniak) and her young daughter to safety at his Absolute Zero lab in Miami as the world around them freezes to uninhabitable temperatures.