Tells the incredible story of how Detroit answered the call to arms during WWII, centering on Henry Ford and his tortured son Edsel, who, when asked if they could deliver 50,000 airplanes, made an outrageous claim: Ford Motor Company would erect a plant that could yield a "bomber an hour."

pt. I. The Motor City : Henry ; The machine is the new Messiah ; Edsel ; Learning to fly ; Father vs. son ; The Ford terror ; Danger in Nazi Germany -- pt. II. The liberator : Fifty thousand airplanes ; "Gentlemen, we must outbuild Hitler" ; The liberator ; Willow Run ; Awakening ; Strike! ; Air raid! -- pt. III. The big one : The grim race ; "Detroit's worries are right now" ; Will it run? ; Bomber ship 01 ; Roosevelt visits Willow Run ; A dying man -- pt. IV. The rise of American airpower : Unconditional surrender ; Taking flight ; "The arsenal of democracy is making good" ; Death in Dearborn -- pt. V. D-Day and the battle of Dearborn : Operation Tital Wave ; The Detroit race riot of 1943 ; "The United States is the country of machines" ; Ford war production exceeds dreams ; D-Day ; The final battle.