Set in a fictionalized 1974, Seven Days in May depicts a United States on the brink of a constitutional collapse. The world is defined by the high-stakes tension of the Cold War, but with a pivotal divergence: the sitting President, Jordan Lyman, has successfully negotiated a total nuclear disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union. This move has triggered a 29% approval rating and a wave of domestic unrest, creating a power vacuum that the military leadership, led by the charismatic General James Mattoon Scott, intends to fill through a meticulously planned military coup.

The film’s dynamics focus on the shift of power from civilian leadership to the military-industrial complex. Earth remains the central and only theater of action, specifically the political corridors of Washington D.C. and secret installations in the American Southwest. The narrative explores a "Deep State" dynamic where technology—specifically television and telecommunications—serves as the primary weapon for controlling public perception and executing the seizure of the state. Unlike more fantastical sci-fi of the era, the worldbuilding is grounded in "Mad Men" era aesthetics, where the tools of the future are not flying cars, but the centralization of broadcast signals and electronic surveillance.

In terms of predictions, the film accurately foresaw the weaponization of mass media to bypass traditional democratic checks. While the specific military coup did not occur in the real 1974, the film’s depiction of ECOMCON (Emergency Communications Control) mirrors modern concerns regarding cyber-warfare and the seizure of digital infrastructure. Additionally, the film's portrayal of a polarized electorate seeking a "savior" figure in a time of perceived national weakness has been noted by critics as a startlingly accurate signal of 21st-century political shifts toward populist authoritarianism. The reliance on payphones and landlines in the film’s 1974 stands in contrast to our reality, but its focus on the surveillance of communication remains a potent and realized prediction.