In 1998, Stephen Glass is an associate editor at The New Republic. The youngest of the magazine's staff, he is popular with his colleagues for his entertaining stories. He serves under editor Michael Kelly, who holds loyalty with the writers. However, conflict between Kelly and publisher Marty Peretz results in Peretz firing Kelly. Reporter Charles Lane is promoted by Peretz to replace Kelly, despite being disliked by the staff due to his cold reputation. Glass writes a story entitled "Hack Heaven" that details a teenage hacker being hired by a software firm he infiltrated. The story reaches Forbes Digital Tool, where reporter Adam Penenberg finds no corroborating evidence. When contacted by Penenberg about being unable to reach Glass's sources, Glass provides a number with a Palo Alto area code for the firm that, when dialed, goes immediately to voicemail. Lane later receives a brief call from an individual who identifies himself as the firm's chair. Glass and Lane also partake in a conference call with the Forbes staff, further eroding the story's credibility and prompting Glass to claim his sources tricked him. Lane, looking to protect Glass from the Forbes staff, has Glass take him to the convention center where the story took place but learns it was closed during the events Glass wrote about. He also discovers that the restaurant where the hackers had dinner afterwards closes in the mid-afternoon. With the story contradicted by this information, Glass tells Lane he only relied on sources for information and falsified his first-hand experiences to improve the story. Lane decides to suspend Glass instead of firing him due to his popularity, but upon discovering that Glass's brother lives in Palo Alto, he realizes that Glass had his brother pose as the firm's chair. After confronting Glass with this knowledge, Lane re-reads Glass's previous stories and realizes that several were falsified. With his deception exposed, Glass is fired by Lane. Lane receives support from The New Republic staff for bringing Glass's deception to light, while the magazine's attorney questions Glass over which stories of his were fabricated. Closing titles reveal that Penenberg's article on Glass was hailed as a breakthrough for internet journalism, The New Republic determined that 27 of Glass's 41 stories were either partially or completely fabricated, Kelly was killed while covering the Iraq War, Glass earned a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown and wrote a novel fictionalizing his own life called "The Fabulist", and Lane joined The Washington Post.

The young revolutionary and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela is arrested, and it is the task of censor and prison guard James Gregory to watch him. He has long since moved to South Africa with the family for his work in the prison of Robben Island, and slowly he clashes with the politics and racist culture of his countrymen.

In the 1890s, a group of "Harvey Girls"—new waitresses for Fred Harvey 's pioneering chain of Harvey House restaurants—travels on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to the town of Sandrock, New Mexico. On the trip, they meet Susan Bradley, who is traveling from Ohio to Sandrock to marry a man named H. H. Hartsey, whose beautiful love letters she received when she answered a "lonely-hearts" ad. Upon arrival, Susan is dismayed to find that Hartsey is a "mangy old buzzard" who does not at all meet her expectations. As Hartsey senses Susan's disappointment, the two eventually agree that they are mismatched and call off the wedding. Hartsey then reveals to Susan that his letters were actually written as a joke by Ned Trent, co-owner of the Alhambra Saloon, prompting Susan to confront Ned. Smitten with Susan, Ned offers to pay for her trip back to Ohio, but she instead vows to run him and his saloon out of town. Susan joins the Harvey Girls, and on the Harvey House's opening night, Ned visits the restaurant and orders a rare steak. Realizing that the meat has disappeared, Susan marches over to the Alhambra with two six-shooters, recovers the stolen meat and serves Ned a raw steak. Later that night, after someone shoots at a lamp in the Harvey Girls' dormitory, most of the women want to flee, but Susan and other waitresses decide to stay, unaware that Ned's business associate, Judge Sam Purvis, is determined to close the Harvey House in order to maintain his own thriving business running the Alhambra in town. The next day, Ned confronts Purvis about the shooting and demands that he apologize to the Harvey Girls. Instead, Purvis lies to Susan and another waitress, Deborah Andrews, claiming that Ned is not pleased to have the Harvey House in town. Determined to find the culprit behind the shooting, Susan seeks out Ned at the Alhambra and is confronted by Em, Ned's lead saloon singer who is in love with him; she reveals to Susan that it is actually Purvis, not Ned, who wants to run the Harvey House out of town. Susan later finds Ned alone in a remote valley, and as they discuss love letters and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 's poem The Courtship of Miles Standish, they kiss. Returning to town, they find Deborah trapped in the Harvey Girls' closet with a rattlesnake, which Ned shoots dead. Susan accuses Ned of placing the snake in their closet, prompting him to leave. Ned then tells Purvis to stop harassing the Harvey Girls. Some time later, Ned informs Susan that the Alhambra will be relocated to Flagstaff, Arizona, the next morning, and she cries as they say goodbye. Later that night, when Purvis and his henchmen set fire to the Harvey House, Ned fights them off, but the restaurant burns down. The next morning, Ned offers the Alhambra as a replacement for the Harvey House. Just before Em boards the train to Flagstaff, Ned tells her he is staying in Sandrock. Susan, thinking that Ned too is leaving, boards the same train and is spotted by Em. Realizing that Susan loves Ned so much that she is willing to become a saloon girl to be with him, Em pulls the emergency brake and points out Ned, riding toward the train on his horse. Ultimately, they wed in the desert, surrounded by the Harvey Girls.

The Battle of France rages in June 1940. It has turned against both the British and French. RAF pilots evacuate a small airfield in advance of German advance forces. The pilots, along with British and French military, leave just as Luftwaffe aircraft arrive and execute a heavy strafing attack. As the deserted beaches of Dunkirk are shown, where retreating British forces were overwhelmed and driven into the sea by the Wehrmacht, the BBC reports British Prime Minister Winston Churchill 's declaration that "what General Weygand called the 'Battle of France' is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin." In neutral Switzerland, the German ambassador, Baron von Richter, proposes new peace terms to his British counterpart, Sir David Kelly, stating that with the fall of France and U.S. still determinedly isolationist continuing to fight alone is hopeless. Kelly retorts, "Don't threaten or dictate to us until you're marching up Whitehall... and even then we won't listen." Hitler delays, hoping that Britain will accept peace terms; British commanders use the delay to build up their strength, training pilots and ground controllers. The campaign to conquer Britain by air begins with the German air force launching an early morning assault on " Eagle Day ". It seeks to destroy the RAF on the ground before it has time to launch its Spitfire and Hurricane fighters. Two British radar stations at Ventnor and Dover are put out of action and a number of RAF airfields are damaged or destroyed, but losses are relatively light. A gruelling battle of attrition ensues, with airfields in Southern England under repeated attack. Tensions develop between commanding officers of RAF 11 Group, Keith Park, and 12 Group, Trafford Leigh-Mallory. Leigh-Mallory is tasked with protecting 11 Group's airfields while Park's forces are aloft engaging the enemy, but in raid after raid 12 Group aircraft are nowhere to be seen. Called to meet Dowding, Leigh-Mallory explains that the " Big Wing " tactic he has devised to assemble an air armada to attack the Germans from above takes time to form up, while Park complains that it takes too long, and the tactic is simply not working. The turning point in the Battle occurs when a squadron of German bombers lost in bad weather at night jettison their bombs, which accidentally fall on London. In retaliation to what was seen as attacks on London, the RAF attacks Berlin. An enraged Adolf Hitler publicly orders London to be razed. This takes the pressure off the RAF Fighter airfields, which had been suffering for some time before. Hermann Göring arrives in France to personally command the assault, confident that the end of the campaign nears. Their first northbound sorties skirt the RAF, which is still defending its airfields to the south, and the Germans bomb unopposed. Night attacks follow and London burns. To supplement Commonwealth forces, the RAF has begun accepting and training foreign pilots who have escaped German-occupied countries. The main difficulty is their lack of English-language skills. While on a training flight, a Free Polish Air Force squadron accidentally runs into an unescorted flight of German bombers. Ignoring commands to avoid engagement by their British training officer, they peel off and shoot down several bombers with aggressive if unorthodox tactics. Park rewards the unit by elevating it to operational status, leading Dowding to do the same for the Canadian and Czech trainees. While discussing the day's events, Park and Dowding examine the German switch to London. Given a respite, Park notes that he will be able to repair his airfields and bring his squadrons back to near full strength. Dowding observes that although enemy bombers can reach London, their fighter escort can only provide ten minutes of cover. He concludes that "turning on London could be the Germans' biggest blunder." The next German daytime raid is met by large groups of RAF fighters attacking en masse, which overwhelm the German raiders. Luftwaffe losses are so severe an incensed Göring orders German fighters remain with the bombers. Deprived of both of altitude and speed, they are easy prey for British fighters attacking from above. For the first time German losses outweigh British. The climactic air battle of 15 September 1940 arrives, with British ground control ordering every squadron into the air, leaving no reserve. Intense combat over London leaves both sides with heavy losses. The next day the RAF anxiously await a raid that never comes. Both German air and naval forces withdraw from the coast, leaving airfields abandoned and harbors empty. Göring leaves the front, accusing his commanders of betrayal. Dowding looks out over the gardens and up to the sky where the words of Winston Churchill appear onscreen: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

In August 2010, a group of 33 miners from Copiapó, Chile, work in the San José Mine when the mine collapses due to the owner's negligence in ignoring warning signs of instability. The collapse blocks the only path into the mine, leaving the miners trapped. They manage to make their way to a rescue chamber, but soon realize they are ill-prepared for a long stay. The radio is not working, the medical kit is empty, and there is very little food. Mario Sepúlveda emerges as a leader among the miners, taking charge of rationing food and keeping the group from spiraling into violence and despair. The mine company does not attempt to rescue the miners, and their families gather outside the gates of the mine. The Chilean government intervenes and orders the use of drilling to reach the trapped miners. The first few boreholes miss their target, but eventually, a successful one reaches the rescue chamber. The miners attach a note to the drill bit to let the surface know they are alive. The government sends in food, clothing, and establishes television communication with the surface. A second drilling system is prepared to retrieve the miners one by one. Over the next several weeks, there is much drama and tension as the rescuers work to free the miners. Finally, after more than two months of being trapped, all 33 miners are successfully rescued. The rescue becomes a source of inspiration and hope for people around the world.

During the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, Emperor Nero "fiddles". Tigellinus informs Nero that he is suspected of starting the fire. Nero instead has the fire blamed on the Christians. In Rome, the Apostle Titus, Mercia, and Favius are apprehended by a mob for being Christians. Marcus Superbus, the prefect of Rome, arrives and disperses the mob, allowing the Christians to go free. News of Marcus's mercy towards the Christians spreads throughout Rome, including to Empress Poppaea. At a fountain, Marcus meets with Mercia again; there, Licinius reads Nero's edict to Marcus reminding him of his duty to arrest Christians. Later that night, Titus sends Stephan, a young Christian man, to tell other Christians of the secret meeting at the Cestian Bridge. Shortly after, Marcus arrives at Mercia's home wanting to take her for himself, but Mercia decides to stay. Stephan is arrested by Licinius under suspicion of being a Christian. In a dungeon, under torture Stephan reveals the location of the Christians' secret meeting. After learning of Stephan's arrest and torture, Marcus races to the meeting hoping to save Mercia. Along the way, he crashes into Poppaea's carriage. She demands Marcus stay, but he leaves her and promises to be with her in the morning. At the meeting, Roman soldiers surround the Christians, and Titus and some members of his congregation are struck dead by arrows. Marcus arrives at the meeting and saves Mercia, and takes her home, while the other Christians are arrested and imprisoned. The next morning, Poppaea scolds Marcus for his affections to Mercia. Elsewhere in the palace, Tigellinus informs Nero of Marcus's disobedience to his edict. Nero accuses Marcus of betrayal. Jealous of Mercia, Poppaea influences Nero to sign an order for Mercia's arrest. At a feast in Marcus's home, he introduces Mercia to Ancaria, who performs an exotic dance. Outside, Ancaria's performance is drowned out by the Christians' singing. Annoyed by the singing, Marcus sends his party away so he may be alone with Mercia. He tries to get Mercia to renounce her Christian faith so she may be with him, but she refuses. Shortly after, Licinius arrives to arrest Mercia, who is to be executed for treason amongst one hundred Christians in the arena. Marcus returns to Nero's palace and demands that the emperor spare Mercia, but Nero refuses. In the arena, the audience is entertained by several spectacles, including gladiator battles. When the time for the Christians' execution arrives, Mercia is told to stay behind by Poppaea's orders, as she is to be executed alone. In the arena, the Christians are mauled to death by lions. Following the execution, Marcus again asks for Mercia to renounce her faith and be his wife. Mercia refuses once more, but she states that she loves him. Refusing to live without her, Marcus accompanies Mercia, and they are both executed.