- The Sun doesn't rise on a small town where an execution is scheduled to take place.
- In a small town, a man by the name of Jagger is about to be executed after being found guilty of murder. The local newspaperman, Colbey, is convinced that Jagger is innocent. He accuses Deputy Pierce of having perjured himself to get a conviction and accuses Sheriff Charlie Koch of just plain laziness in investigating the case. As the morning of his execution arrives, the townsfolk realize that the sun hasn't risen that day. They soon begin to understand the cause of the darkness that surrounds them.—garykmcd
- In a small town in the racist Midwest of the USA, the prisoner Jagger will be hanged at 9:30 AM. However, the sun does rise and the town is mysteriously in the dark. While waiting for the scheduled hour, Sheriff Charlie Koch, Newspaper Editor Colbey and Deputy Pierce discuss Jagger's judgment where Deputy Pierce Perjured and Sheriff Koch omitted detail of the crime scene, while Colby did not expose the truth in his newspaper. Soon the time comes and Jagger is hanged in a crowded place. Why the place was taken by the darkness?—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Sheriff Charlie Koch () awakens to realize that it is seven-thirty in the morning, but that the sun has not risen and it is still pitch black in his small Midwestern town. He is already troubled because a man, Jagger (), is scheduled to be hanged that day at 9:30 for the crime of murder. He discusses the strange darkness with his colleague, Deputy Pierce (), and Colbey (), a newspaperman, stops by to report that people are starting to panic, speculating that the darkness signifies the end of the world or some sort of alien invasion. Reports indicate that only their small town and nowhere else is affected. The deputy appears unconcerned and focuses on the upcoming execution, maliciously looking forward to seeing the man die. Colbey demands to know if Jagger is guilty or not, and it is revealed that the murder victim was a violent, dangerous racist, and that there were questionable clues at the crime scene, including powder burns on the body, that render Jaggers guilt uncertain. Colbey then goes into the jail and talks to Jagger, who wryly states that he is guilty and is a "bad guy" who killed a "white knight." Colbey tells him that despite the victim's behavior, it is not up to Jagger to dispense justice, but the man remains angry.
Outside, a crowd gathers to watch the execution. Koch and Pierce debate about whether they should go ahead with it considering the bizarre darkness. Koch clearly feels guilty about persecuting the man, as everyone involved had their own agenda: Pierce cared about public approval more than justice, and Koch himself wanted to be reelected. He asks Reverend Anderson () if there might be a "theological explanation" for the darkness, but the man has no clear answer. Jagger is then brought to the gallows, and the townspeople clamor for his death. The reverend steps in and says that Jagger deserves peace for attempting to defend the black community by killing a racist, but Jagger just retorts that he'll "please them all" by suffering and dying in front of them, although he refuses to apologize. The reverend beseeches him not to return their hate, and asks how Jagger felt when he killed the man. He replies that it makes no difference how he felt and that he is guilty according to the majority, and Anderson muses that the majority is "all there is, and the minority died on the cross two thousand years ago." Jagger is taken to the gallows and hanged, and the crowd watches, subdued. The reverend tells them all that they are as doomed as Jagger, and that the darkness is a result of their hatred and cruel behavior. At that moment, the darkness deepens even further.
At the sheriffs office, Deputy Pierce insists that the darkness is just "a fog" that will soon lift, but Koch replies that only God knows if the sun will rise again. The radio then reports that other areas of the world, particularly areas of notable hatred and strife, are also going dark as well. In a voiceover, calls hatred a "sickness," and says that it can be found everywhere in the world, including in the mirror.
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