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Described as a close knit community where most of the men work at the nearby steel mill, the daily grind of Pleasant Valley is interrupted when a new family, the Trombleys, moves in down the street.  Arriving in a European style roadster and clad in baggy trousers and bow tie, patriarch John Trombly lights a pipe and inspects his new property.  His appearance immediately clashes with the much more subdued nature of the neighborhood and the local men mock his mannerisms from afar, though a musical score of sharp trumpet blasts keeps the situation appear comical.  As weeks go by, the Trombleys keep to themselves.  When John Trombley begins to dig a large hole in his back yard, however, he catches everyone's attention.  "Like most Englishmen, his first though was of next summer's garden.  Or was it a garden?  It looked more like he was trying to bury himself alive.  Well, the Englishman was obviously insane everybody said" Preston relates as Trombley's hole gets wider and deeper.  The speculation and gossip grows so intense it even interrupts a weekly poker game where one man goes so far as to suggest Trombley is digging for uranium on his property.  Eventually Joe Wilson, Trombley's next door neighbor, can't stand the mystery and inquires about the hole, now several feet deep.  John Trombley introduces himself and reveals his hole is actually the foundation for a bomb shelter.  Because he "saw a bit of bombing during the 'last show'", Trombley wants to ensure his family is protected in the event of an enemy attack with atomic weapons.  Interest in civil defense quickly spreads throughout the neighborhood and suddenly several shelters are constructed.