In the early 1900s, San Francisco stood as a proud and flourishing symbol of America's recent conquest of the one-wild west. But on April 18, 1906, the city would experience an awesome reminder of the uncontrollable forces lying dormant just beneath the splendors of the cosmopolitan surface. Thirty times more powerful than the temblor that decimated northern California in 1989, this earthquake measured a ground-wrenching 8.3 on the Richter scale, resulting in the worst catastrophe suffered by a North American city in the 20th century.

Chapters include: -- introduction -- a city waiting to burn -- from earthquake to fire -- out of the ashes -- the new San Francisco -- credits.