During the height of the cold war, east-west tensions lead to a nuclear disaster when a soviet bomber is shot down by a US airspace in the arctic. The massive radiation from the atomic explosion awakens Gamera, an ancient gargantuan creature from a long-forgotten legend of the lost continent of Atlantis. Unleashed from its glacial tomb and proving impervious to all man-made weapon, the colossal chelonian smashes a cataclysmic swath across the globe. Can the scientists of the world, led by Dr. Hidaka, find a way to stop this invincible super monster or is mankind doomed?