It's 1939, the Second World War is about to break out and the Baird Television Company is threatened with closure. But John Logie Baird can still afford to keep a few workers on, amongst them 14-year-old Alex. One day, the boy finds Baird bent over in pain, ill from overwork. The boy persuades Baird to take a holiday with him, to visit Alex's evacuated family in Cornwall. On the long train journey, Baird tells Alex the extraordinary story of his life, and how he first sent pictures through the air.