A driver waiting at the traffic lights goes blind. An opthamologist tries to diagnose his distinctive white blindness, but is affected before he can read the textbooks. It becomes a contagion, spreading throughout the unnamed city. Trying to stem the epidemic, the authorities herd the blind into a mental asylum. The wards are terroriesd by blind thugs. And when fire destroys the asylum, the inmates burst forther and the last links with a supposedly civilised society are snapped.