The time is 1944 and the British submarine Trident is stalking an enemy ship. When Commander Clinton gives an order to his number one man, Brooks, the latter hesitates before carrying it out. The attack is successful, but Clinton suffers what seems to be a mild injury. Back on base Brooks asks Clinton when he will get his promotion, and Clinton tells Brooks he is not certain whether he will ever be more than a number one man. Tension mounts between the two when they are sent to track down an enemy submarine

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have five unmarried daughters, and Mrs. Bennet is especially eager to find suitable husbands for them. When the rich single gentlemen Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy come to live nearby, the Bennets have high hopes. But pride, prejudice, and misunderstandings all combine to complicate their relationships and to make happiness difficult.

The annual burning of the Guy Fawkes effigy gives Herbert Triton an idea which (like Guy Fawkes) could send him to the gallows if he is caught.

In 1911, two young Irishmen compete for the hand of the daughter of Ireland's Chief Justice.