We Are ALL Downwinders

"We Are ALL Downwinders" is about the testing of nuclear weapons in the Nevada desert. The story is about the struggle of one individual to expose efforts by the government to hide the effects of nuclear testing on civilian and military populations. Michael Sanders and his bride, Wendy, are civilians caught in a test blast. Ed Johnson is a soldier assigned to participate in the testing. Ed loses a close friend to the effects of an atomic blast. Michael is badly burned by another blast. Wendy is a victim of radiation poisoning. She is sent secretly to a government hospital, where she serves as a hidden "guinea pig" for many years. Ed is subjected to psychological "readjustment." Years later, Michael and Ed are accidentally thrown together just as the trial begins to secure reparations from the government for downwind victims of the testing. They unite in an effort to expose the machinations of Colonel Adam Hagen, the man in charge or early testing efforts. Hagen, now a general, learns of their efforts and seeks to stop them before they can testify at the trial. Hagen is connected to moneyed interests wanting to renew the testing. The conflict involves behind-the-scenes intrigue, a high-speed chase involving Michael's motorcycle skills against a military helicopter, and a tense hospital search to find Wendy. The story is presented in movie script format to convey the reality of the time and to capture the visual nature of the events. It has the urgency and realism of a documentary. "We Are ALL Downwinders" provides a powerful statement about the mistakes of the past and the dangers of the future where testing nuclear weapons is concerned.