Earth has been ravaged by a nuclear war, and a feminist warrior is forced to join up with a soldier of fortune in her journey to find a rumored "paradise" as they battle gangs of rampaging bandits.

Despite rumors of impending war, the majestic ship Normandie makes its transatlantic voyage from Washington D.C., to France. Aboard is beautiful, American-born Liane De Villiers, devoted to her much-older husband, the French ambassador to the United States, and her two daughters. She meets Nick Burnham, an American steel magnate, a kind man trapped in a loveless marriage. Their passion remains unacknowledged. But when the outbreak of World War II forces Liane to flee Paris, she and Nick meet again–and pledge a love that can no longer be denied.

Moustapha Akkad, the man who brought you HALLOWEEN, invites you to keep an APPOINTMENT WITH FEAR. According to legend, Attis, King of the Woods, sacrificed his child to keep his own spirit alive and free to wander the earth at will. APPOINTMENT WITH FEAR casts this evil in contemporary terms: can a group of free-spirited teenagers and an inquisitive detective save a dying woman's infant from being Attis' next victim? The suspense is unrelenting as they - and you - keep an APPOINTMENT WITH FEAR.

In this whimsical fable, Resnais deftly interweaves three story lines: the creation of an early-20th-century utopia; romantic high jinks at a school conference; and a fantasy sparked by F/X pioneer Georges Méliès.