There has been a terrible nuclear war in northern countries and all life has been destroyed there. Now the deadly radiation is travelling south.
In Melbourne, Australia, where people are still alive, Peter and Mary Holmes and their baby daughter are trying to live their lives as normally as possible. But whole cities in northern Australia are now dead and nothing can stop the radiation´s progress.
On the Beach describes the lives of the Holmes family and their friends and neighbours as the radiation comes closer. What can they do? Is this the end of life on earth?