John Mitchell's efforts to provide a better life for his wife Mary and two children appear bound to fail, and he holds himself responsible. At the Conway Aero-Manufacturing Company in Wolverhampton, Mitchell is scheduled to test the company's new rocket-propulsion transport plane while carrying two key passengers, a Ministry official and a buyer's representative. Mitchell is informed by his employer, Reg Conway, that if Ashmore does not approve the jet, the company would fail and Mitchell will lose his job, as the plane is uninsured and the firm's whole capital is connected to it. Mitchell refuses to comply with orders to ditch the aircraft in the Irish Sea after an engine catches fire in the air and forces the passengers and other crew to abandon ship.