Digger

Curtis Markson is the lead actor in Fossil Fools, a satirical stage play about historical oil tycoon Digger Rockwell. Before the premiere, Curtis learns that his daughter was aboard a plane from Jamaica that disappeared after encountering a hurricane. The producer, Kenny, offers to locate her using his private intelligence network.

In the play, Digger is an aging oil magnate who colludes with U.S. President Compson to allow Digger's company, Rockwell United, to extract oil in Alaska and Greenland. After repeatedly ignoring reports of methane beneath the Greenland oil field, Digger learns that an explosion has destroyed the Greenland rig and dislodged an ice shelf the size of Maryland, sending it towards Europe. Rockwell United's environmental safety chief, Dr. Nirav Ganesh, warns Digger and Compson that the ice shelf's collision with Norway in three days will cause massive tidal waves across the North Sea. Compson and Digger instead establish an information firewall to suppress discussion of the incident, gambling on the slight possibility that the ice shelf will drift into the Atlantic Ocean and melt.

The shelf strikes Europe, flooding major cities across the north of the continent and sparking a wave of protests. The United States and Rockwell United are summoned before the European Parliament, with Vice President Eddie standing in for Compson, who is undergoing surgery to treat his colon cancer. Eddie promises American support for Europe; Ganesh blames Digger and other oil companies for the disaster, while Digger argues that neither he nor his company can be blamed for the world's dependence on oil. Afterwards, Ganesh tells Digger that an even larger ice shelf has broken away from a Russian glacier and is heading towards Alaska.

Digger and Ganesh inform the recovering Compson, who becomes delusional and proposes launching nuclear weapons at China. Military Chief of Staff Fitzgerald instead suggests using the weapons against the ice shelf. Ganesh objects that the attack will merely fragment it without slowing its progress, but Compson publicly authorizes the strike. Ganesh's prediction proves correct.

Meanwhile, Curtis becomes increasingly disturbed by the play's satirical treatment of events and eventually has a meltdown on stage, accusing it of misrepresenting real events and trivializing the suffering of generations affected by those responsible. Kenny reveals that he is Digger's nephew and that he bought the rights to Fossil Fools and cast Curtis as Digger so that the public could mourn their losses through comedy. He persuades Curtis to complete the rehearsal and perform the premiere.

Following the ice shelf disaster, Digger and his family retreat to his converted offshore platform. After Compson dies, Eddie becomes president and cuts the platform's supplies and naval protection. Most of Digger's staff desert, taking supplies with them. Driven into severe delusion, Digger scatters the ashes of his dead cat Maggie before jumping into the ocean.

The audience of Fossil Fools cheers Digger's death and Curtis's performance. Curtis's wife arrives to congratulate him and reveals that their daughter is safe, thanks to Kenny's help. The theater management then announces a "Level 4" condition outside. The audience puts on breathing masks and leaves the theater, entering a polluted, devastated city patrolled by drones, robots, and soldiers.