During the World War II, young pilot Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant Toby Jugg (Robert Pattinson) suffers a serious spinal wound during a bombing raid on the city of Dresden. This injury consigns him to a wheelchair, facing a life as a paralysed recluse. In the hope that he can recover, his aunt-in-law, Julia (Rachael Stirling), takes him to Llancebach, a remote military hospital in Wales run by Dr. Hal Burns (Julian Sands), known for his unorthodox treatment methods.