The rich in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and other cities come together for an unprecedented concert of world-famous celebrities in honor of the opening of the newly built palace.

Engineer Mac Allan and his wife Maude occupy the box of their friend Hobby, the builder of the palace, Allan, already known as the inventor of diamond steel, came here for a ten-minute conversation with the most powerful and richest man, tycoon and banker Lloyd. An engineer from Buffalo is indifferent to music, and his charming and modest wife enjoys the concert.

A hobby, a talented and extravagant architect that all of New York knows, introduces Allan Lloyd. The banker's face resembles the face of a bulldog, corroded by disgusting lichens, it scares people. But stocky and strong, like a boxer, Allan, who has healthy nerves, calmly looks at Lloyd and makes a good impression on him. The banker introduces Allan to his daughter, the beautiful Ethel. Lloyd heard about the project being developed by Allan, considers it grandiose, but quite feasible and ready to support. Ethel, trying not to show too obvious interest in the engineer, declares himself his ally.

Meeting with Lloyd decides the fate of Allan and opens a "new era in the relationship of the Old and New Worlds." When Allan shares his ideas with Maud, she has a thought that her husband’s creation is no less magnificent than the symphonies that she listened to at the concert.

In New York, rumors are circulating about some extraordinary millionaire enterprise that Allan is preparing with the support of Lloyd. But everything is still kept secret. Allan conducts preparatory work, negotiating with agents, engineers and scientists. Finally, in one of the most prestigious hotels, a thirty-six-story skyscraper on Broadway, the famous conference opens. This is a congress of financial tycoons convened by Lloyd in a "case of paramount importance."

The millionaires sitting in the hall understand that they will face a gigantic battle of capital for the right to participate in the project, which Lloyd called "the greatest and most daring project of all time."

Looking around the assembled calm eyes with clear bright eyes, hiding his excitement, Allan says that in fifteen years he undertakes to build an underwater tunnel that will connect the two continents, Europe and America. Trains will cover a distance of five thousand kilometers in twenty-four hours.

The brains of thirty of the most influential “slave owners” invited by Lloyd stirred. Allan’s business promises everyone a huge profit in the future, they must decide to invest their money. Lloyd has already signed up for twenty-five million. At the same time, the rich know that Allan is just a tool in the hands of the almighty banker. Millionaires like Allan, they know that as a boy he worked as a horse breeder in an adit, survived the collapse, having lost his father and brother there. A wealthy family helped him study, and in twenty years he took off high. And on this day, people endowed with wealth, power, courage, believed in Allan.

The next morning, newspapers in all languages ​​tell the world about the establishment of the Atlantic Tunnel Syndicate. A set of one hundred thousand workers is announced for the American station, the chief of which is Hobby. He will be the first to know the pace of Allan’s work, the “hellish pace of America”, without days off, sometimes twenty hours a day.

Allan's orders are carried out by factories in many countries. Forests are cut down in Sweden, Russia, Hungary and Canada. The work created by Allan covers the whole world.

The syndicate building is besieged by journalists. The press makes a lot of money in the tunnel. The hostile press, bribed by interested parties, advocates a transatlantic shipping service, the friendly one reports amazing prospects.

The lightning-fast Tunnel City, McCity, has it all. The barracks are replaced by working villages with schools, churches, sports fields. There are bakeries, slaughterhouses, post office, telegraph, department store. In the distance is a crematorium, where ballot boxes with English, German, Russian and Chinese names are already appearing.

Allan calls on the whole world to subscribe to the tunnel action. The syndicate's finances are managed by someone Wolfe, a former director of Lloyd's Bank. This is an outstanding financier who rose from the bottom of the Hungarian Jewish suburb. Allan needs shares to be bought up not only by the rich, but also by the people, whose property the tunnel should become. Gradually, the money of the "little people" flowed into the river. The tunnel “swallows” and “drinks” money on both sides of the ocean.

At all five stations of the American and European continents, drilling machines cut through the stone for many kilometers in depth. The place where the drilling machine works is called “hell” among the workers, many of them die from noise. Every day there are wounded and sometimes killed. Hundreds flee from hell, but new ones always come in their place. With old methods of work, it would take ninety years to finish the tunnel. But Allan "rushes through the stone", he fights fiercely in seconds, forcing workers to double the pace. Everyone is infected with his energy.

Maud suffers that her husband does not have time for her and her little daughter. She already feels inner emptiness and loneliness. And then she comes up with the idea of ​​working in McCity. Maud becomes a caregiver at home for recovering women and children. She is assisted by the daughters of the best families in New York. She is attentive and friendly with everyone, sincerely sympathizes with the grief of others, everyone loves and respects her. “Now she more often sees her husband, who has lost weight, with an absent gaze, absorbed only in the tunnel. Unlike him, the Hobby, which happens in their house every day, after its twelve-hour work, relaxes and has fun. Allan passionately loves his wife and daughter, but understands that it is better for someone like him not to have a family.

Wulf makes money for the tunnel. Dollars from America and Europe are flocking to him, and he immediately puts them into circulation around the globe. A financial genius has a weakness - a love for beautiful girls, whom he generously pays. Wulf admires Allan and hates him, envious of his power over people.

In the seventh year of construction, a terrible catastrophe occurs in the American adit. A huge force explosion destroys and damages tens of kilometers of adits. The few who escaped from the collapse and fire run, wander and crawl, overcoming long distances, to the exit, choking on smoke. Rescue trains with dedicated engineers manage to take out only a small part of the exhausted people. Upstairs they are met by women who are distraught with fear and grief. The crowd is rampaging, calling for revenge on Allan and all leadership. Enraged women, ready for defeat and murder, rush to the houses of engineers. In such a situation, Allan alone could have prevented the catastrophe. But at that time he was racing in a car from New York, wiring his wife a categorical ban on leaving the house.

Maud cannot understand this, she wants to help the wives of the workers, worries about the Hobby in the tunnel. Together with her daughter, she hurries to McCity and faces a raging crowd of women. Both die under a hail of stones thrown in them.

The anger of the workers after the arrival of Allan subsided. Now he has the same grief as theirs.

Aldan and doctors and engineers are looking for and taking out of the smoky adit the last survivors, including the half-dead Hobby, similar to an ancient old man. Subsequently, the Hobby can no longer return to his work.

The catastrophe consumed about three thousand lives. Experts suggest that it is caused by gases that flared up when the stone exploded.

Workers supported by their European comrades are on strike. Allan counts hundreds of thousands of people. The dismissed behave menacingly until they find out that the leadership of McCity is provided with machine-gun protection. Allan had provided for everything in advance.

The adits are served by engineers and volunteers, but the Tunnel City seems to have died out. Allan goes to Paris, experiencing his grief, visiting places where he has been with Maud.

At this time, a new catastrophe erupted over the syndicate - financial, even more destructive. Wulf, who has long been carrying a plan to rise above Allan, "jumps above his head." He has been preparing for ten years to annex the tunnel for a lot of money and for this he is desperately speculating in violation of the contract. He is losing.

Allan demands from him a return of seven million dollars to the syndicate and does not make any concessions. Stalked by Allan's detectives, Wulf rushes under the wheels of the train.

Allan is haunted by the image of Wolfe, mortally pale and helpless, also destroyed by the tunnel. Now there is no means to restore the tunnel. The death of Wolfe frightened the whole world, the syndicate staggered. Large banks, industrialists and ordinary people have invested billions in the tunnel. Syndicate stocks sell for nothing. Workers in many countries are on strike.

At the cost of great material sacrifices, Lloyd manages to maintain the syndicate. Interest is announced. A crowd of thousands storms the building. There is a fire. The Syndicate declares its insolvency. A threat to Allan’s life is created. People were forgiven for his death, but society does not forgive the loss of money.

Allan has been hiding for several months. Ethel offers him his help. Since the death of Maud, she has repeatedly tried to express her sympathy for Allan, to offer help, but each time she comes across his indifference.

Allan returns to New York and surrenders himself to justice, Society requires a sacrifice, and it receives it. Allan sentenced to six years in prison.

A few months later, the Supreme Court acquitted Allan. He comes out of prison with poor health, looking for loneliness. Allan settles in the deserted McCity, next to the dead tunnel. With great difficulty, Ethel searches for him, but realizes that he does not need him. A woman in love does not back down and gets her way with the help of her father. Allan appeals to the government for help, but it is not able to finance his project. Banks also refuse, they watch the actions of Lloyd. And Allan is forced to turn to Lloyd. At a meeting with him, he understands that the old man will not do anything for him without his daughter, and for the daughter he will do everything.

On the day of the wedding with Allan, Ethel establishes a large pension fund for tunnel workers. Three years later, their son is born. Life with Ethel is not a burden to Allan, although he lives only in a tunnel.

By the end of the construction of the tunnel, its shares are already expensive. Folk money is being returned. There are more than a million inhabitants in McCity, and many safety devices are installed in the galleries. At any time, Allan is ready to slow down. He turned gray, they call him "old gray-haired poppy." The creator of the tunnel becomes his slave.

Finally the whole tunnel is ready. In an article for the press, Allan reports that the prices for using the tunnel are publicly available, cheaper than on air and sea ships. "The tunnel belongs to the people, businessmen, immigrants."

In the twenty-sixth year of construction, Allan launches the first train to Europe. He leaves at midnight American time and exactly at midnight should arrive in Bizkaia, on the European coast. The first and only passenger rides "capital" - Lloyd. Ethel and his son see them off.

The whole world is watching tensely on television cinematographs for the movement of a train whose speed exceeds the world records of airplanes.

The last fifty kilometers, the train is driven by the one who is sometimes called the Odyssey of Modern Technology, Allan. The transatlantic train arrives in Europe with a minimum delay - only twelve minutes.