The scene is Yeoman's Hospital, set in the English Midlands, soon after the NHS was founded. Sophie Dean, a young and gifted surgeon, is torn between her love for pathologist Dr Neil Mariner, and a prestigous post in London. Mariner's research is on penicillin-resistant infection, and whilst drawing blood from a young boy with septicaemia, he inadvertently infects himself. The boy dies, and Neil becomes seriously ill - his experimental serum might save him, and he asks Sophie to give him the serum if there is no other hope - but if she does,she could be charged with manslaughter if Neil dies. Fortunately he is saved, and Sophie decides her future is with Neil. The film is by turns humorous, moving and dramatic with superb attention to detail. It is the archetype of medical dramas right up to the present day.