It is 1888 and, with gas lamps still flickering in the streets of New York, a young lawyer takes a case that seems impossible to win. Paul Cravath's client is George Westinghuose, who is being sued by his wily rival, Thomas Edison, for $1 billion as they compete to power the city by electricity.

In his obsessive pursuit of victory, Paul takes ever greater risks to win at all costs. But soon he will find that everyone in his path is playing their own game.