Explore the tantalizing question of whether all the remnants of mankind will eventually disappear from our planet. What would happen to the earth if humans ceased to exist? Would ocean life flourish, the buffalo return to the Great Plains and our skyscrapers yield to the wear and tear of time. Visit the ghostly villages surrounding Chernobyl, which were abandoned by humans after the nuclear disaster in 1986 and then travel to the remote islands off the coast of Maine to search for traces of abandoned towns that have vanished from view in only a few decades. Learn from experts in the fields of engineering, botany, ecology, biology, geology, climatology and archeology as they provide answers for many thought provoking questions.

Once people disappear, New York City experiences its next great crash. In this episode, we reveal the breaking point of precious metals: skyscrapers face collapse, bridges hang by a steel thread; and the fate of our nation's secret stash of gold. Meanwhile, a fatal weakness is exposed in the Gateway Arch, breweries reveal untapped potential for disaster, and horses make a surprising bid to stay alive in a life after people.

Nature attacks Washington DC and Los Angeles. The fate of the Constitution and other monuments. Wilted palm trees help spread a massive inferno, while another capital emerges in the Pacific Ocean.

The post-apocalyptic fate of our cars, planes and roads. Oil refineries turn into time bombs. In the Motor City, harsh northern winters dismantles auto headquarters. While in Texas, the Alamo succumbs to a new invader. Also, animals adapt.

The fate of man's world of food. Destructive forces turn supermarkets into breeding grounds for insects and rodents. Some foods last forever. Da Vinci's The Last Supper suffers due to an unusual paint ingredient.

The world underground undergoes devastating changes in a Life After People. Geothermal power plants buckle under the strain of superheated steam. NORAD, America's former nuclear command center, comes under attack.

In the post-apocalyptic world, man's mysterious relics meet very different fates, including those in a site in the U.S. called the "Crypt of Civilization". Other crypts, safes, and time capsules are exposed to new threats.