The lack of accuracy in the calculation of longitude had caused the death of countless sailors. In 1714 Parliament, worried by the loss of British ships and mindful to the military advantage of knowing where one was at sea, offered a £20,000 prize to anyone who could accurately measure longitude. This is the story of John Harrison, a brilliant carpenter, whose timepieces solved the problem that had long defeated the scientists, it was a hard fought victory and Harrison was forced to endure pover find out more...

It's the off-season at the lonely Beauregard Hotel in Bournemoth, and only the long-term tenants are still in residence. Life is stirred up, however, when the beautiful Ann Shankland arrives to see her alcoholic ex-husband, John Malcolm, who is secretly engaged to Pat Cooper, the woman who runs the hotel. Meanwhile, snobbish Mrs Railton-Bell discovers that the kindly if rather doddering Major Pollock, played by David Niven, who won an Oscar for his performance, a retired officer who likes to find out more...