RAF pilot Tony Garthwaite (Patrick) marries Sue (Todd), the daughter of wealthy airplane designer John Ridgefield (Richardson). Ridgefield is obsessed with designing a jet that can break the sound barrier and Sue is worried about her father's reckless disregard for the lives of the test pilots, which soon include her husband. Film ignores the fact that American test pilot Chuck Yeager had already accomplished the goal, with Lean filming in a semi-documentary style complete with aerial footage of actual jets.