Raymond Baxter drives through the Mersey Tunnel to Liverpool in order to investigate how new industry is changing the city and what this means for its future. City centre streets and people, and a brief illustrated history of the city from its origins in the 13th century to the modern day, lead to aerial views of new housing and factories at Speke, Aintree and Kirkby.

Inside the Ford Motor plant at Halewood; Dinky toys on a conveyor belt at the Meccano factory, as well as some of the company's other products. More new factories are visited - Valspar paints, Bear Brand nylons, Suncrush and Schweppes bottling plants, and a firm producing domestic ovens and electrical generating equipment. There are views inside a light engineering firm making machine tools, and inside the laboratories of one of the new pharmaceutical companies that has located in Liverpool.

The buildings at Liverpool University, including a look inside the computing department and the ship design and testing laboratory. The region's road, rail and air transport links are featured; with an explanation why these have attracted new business to Liverpool. Aerial views of the docks are coupled with information about the amounts of cargo handled and the new dock expansion scheme.

City centre scenes of the Pier Head and bank and office buildings are followed by a model of a proposed city centre redevelopment scheme, with new roads, shopping centres and commercial buildings. Finally, aerial views of the Pier Head.