At the Trenartha Tin Plate Works a bitter industrial dispute has lasted five months. The founder of the company, the staunch conservative John Anthony, refuses to accede to the demands of the workforce, despite the cessation of output and the resultant decline in share value and despite the human suffering the strike is causing, especially to the families of the workers. Equally uncompromising is the strike leader David Roberts, who even opposes his own union by holding out for the workers' demands.