Plot Summary

On the southeast Asia island of Tian-Huo, a group of scientists are studying a volcano. Young Meng says to her mother Sue that the snow is on fire, but Sue says that is impossible. Then she realizes her little girl is seeing ash from the volcano. Within minutes burning rocks are flying out of the volcano like meteors, and the people in the base camp have to pack up and leave. Sue is able to put her daughter on one of the trucks but cannot get on the truck herself. Her husband, Professor Tao, tries to get to her in his jeep but he has a wreck. Sue can only say goodbye as she watches a hot cloud of gas rush toward her.Years later Professor Tao talks about this volcano to his class, saying it took minutes to go from seemingly dormant to erupting, and that even Vesuvius gave a few hours warning.Jack Harris has built a resort and theme park on Tian-Huo, believing what he was told about the volcano not erupting for another 150 years. He tells people that tourists pay big money to live on the edge. Experts, however, believe he is wrong about the risk.Now an adult, Meng is putting measuring devices in place at different locations on the volcano. This involves being lowered into a hold wearing protective gear. However, she nearly falls in the volcano when being raised.Two of the researchers are romantically involved. The man is given a ring by the girl's grandfather.Guests arrives at the resort and Harris welcomes them. Then he turns over one of the groups to his wife, who serves as their tour guide. Before she takes them out, she tells her husband she wants him to pay more attention to her.Tao visits the island intending to take his daughter home. He has watched video of the volcano and believes it could erupt, and staying on the island will be dangerous. Meng refuses to leave and shows him a model of the volcano at the base station, which displays all the readings from her equipment.The tour group takes a monorail to the crater. Assured they are entering one of the safest places on Earth, the group is lowered into the crater in a vehicle that is designed to withstand the volcano's heat. Then they exit and look at the magnificent view on a platform outside.The happy couple go swimming but soon find themselves in danger as lava blocks the way they went in.Tao and Meng, keeping in touch with the base station, warn the tourists they need to leave. Finally, the volcano comes to life and they have just enough time to leave. One of the researchers in another location falls to his death, and so do several tourists. When they return to the top, the tour group have just enough time to exit the vehicle before it is destroyed. Although the group used one cable car to enter, they need both cable cars to exit. After Meng teaches someone how to operate the first cable car, she and Tao, Mrs. Harris and several others go in the second car. Unfortunately, that is the car which will not make it to the end, as Meng sees from a distance that its cable is broken. The tourists must jump from one car to the other, and if that's not enough, they must dodge the supporting structures. One does not make it. Meng, Tao and Mrs. Harris remain in the cable car when there is no time to exit, and they fall down the mountain. They are picked up in a jeep after they land by the couple who were swimming.Back at the resort, Harris tried distracting the tourists but they now know what is going on and are panicking, running for the exit. Soon flaming rocks are landing on the resort and some tourists are unable to escape. Those that do make it to boats.The news is worse for the village, where people are running for their lives. There is no route to escape. Meng and Tao must figure out a solution along with the one researcher who stayed at the base station when others evacuated, and he keeps in constant contact. Lava is headed for the village, but it can be diverted by releasing water from a reservoir. The group in the jeep encounters numerous obstacles as they head for the control room that will allow them to save the village.Harris watches several news channels which broadcast in different languages, all of which are focusing on this one story. Then he switches to video of the resort and sees a crying girl. He goes out to save the girl. After seeing the girl's mother has died, he doesn't tell her what happened but hands her the watch his father gave him and asks her to listen to it. He hands her off to someone on a boat but says he will wait for his wife. Then he gets hit by a flaming rock.At the facility where they can release the water, flaming rocks are blocking the group from doing anything. However, a drone has been traveling around the island and it can be used to release the water. The lava is diverted from the village. The girl hopes to rescue her grandfather but when they find him, he can do nothing more than say goodbye.Tao gives Meng a tool that belonged to her mother and tells Meng how much he regrets not being able to save her.A helicopter is on the way, but the group in the jeep has to cross a bridge over a river of lava. The bridge falls before Tao can get across. Tao returns to the base station, which is soon destroyed, and takes a motorcycle. When the helicopter rescues the rest of the group, Meng sees a flare go up and realizes it is her father. A hot cloud of ash rushes through the area where the flare came from and Meng cries, knowing there's no way her father could survive.On a ship, Mrs. Harris sees the girl with the watch and asks about who gave it to her. She is told he did not survive. However, while watching news coverage, the group sees amazing footage of Tao being rescued. Meng is soon happy to be reunited with him, and in flashbacks, Tao is shown studying the model of the volcano at the base station, and then again when he sends up the flare. he disappears into a hole. Back on the ship, he explains what he did. Then the credits roll.