In Great Britain, in the mid-1930s, 60-year-old Winston Churchill is wrestling with a multitude of private and public demons. Privately, his family's fortune has been severely depleted by the stock market crash. Publicly, the man who was once the most dynamic Member of Parliament, with a gift of oratory that kept the House of Commons buzzing, is now seen as an over-the-hill, out-of-touch blowhard.
But the aging statesman stubbornly refuses to fade away. Winston continues to speak his mind, impervious to criticism and refusing to toe the party line. In the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, Winston sees a new threat to the security of Europe and Great Britain. But like an overwhelming majority of his countrymen, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin is loathe to do anything that might lead to another Great War, and Winston's warnings go unheeded.
Then, one of Winston's political allies shows him a top-secret report that Hitler is ordering owners of civilian aircraft to register with the Air Ministry. Winston immediately recognizes that this could be what he needs to persuade his critics to take the German leader seriously. As more secret foreign-policy documents are smuggled to him, Winston reveals the increasingly unsettling information in speeches before Parliament. He finally gets Parliament's attention - as well as that of the Prime Minister, who wants to muzzle Winston and uncover the source of the intelligence leak.
Winston's political stock is now on the rebound, but his personal life is not. Frustrated by years of living in her husband's domineering shadow, his wife, Clemmie has decided to go on an "adventure" abroad - accompanied by a handsome middle-aged bachelor named Terence Philip. Jealous and lonely, Winston fights through his separation by continuing to rail publicly against Hitler and the dangers of Germany's military buildup. Eventually, Clemmie returns and Winston is eager to rebuild their relationship. As events unfold on the political scene, Winston finds his popularity in Britain soaring - and his predictions about German aggression coming true.
When the Nazis invade Poland in 1939, Baldwin's successor, Neville Chamberlain, declares war on Germany and appoints Churchill First Lord of the Admiralty. This appointment marks the redemption of a man who, only a year earlier, was considered completely washed up. Arriving at Admiralty Headquarters, Churchill informs the guard he is the new First Lord. The guard replies that the fleet has already received the signal that "Winston is back." Churchill's reply is as succinct as it is robust:
"And so he bloody well is!"
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