There is a bad storm at Allington Bridge. In the control room, Clayton says this is some storm, and it's getting worse. The bridge controller says the bridge can take it. Clayton says the tension is increasing, but the controller says it's a long way from danger level, and this bridge was built to stand against stronger storms than this. The instruments show the bridge is at maximum stress, and Clayton says they'll have to make a full checkup when this is over.

The next morning, the controller is on the phone with a minister. The controller says there will be no delay, and this bridge will be reopened as soon as they've checked there is no storm damage. On the bridge, Chuck has been winched down to look at different parts of the bridge. He uses a device to check the status of the bridge, and reports to Clayton that all the joints in this section are ok. Clayton gets more reports from other workers, confirming their sections are ok.

Clayton heads back to the control room, located in part of the bridge itself. He takes an elevator up to where it is, and the controller wants to know what he found out. Clayton reports all the readings were normal, which the controller remarks is what all the instruments here said. He asks Clayton if he thinks that spot check was worth it. Clayton says that was a bad storm, which could have severely weakened the structure of the bridge. The controller says it could have, but it didn't, so he's giving the order for the bridge to be reopened, as they've wasted enough time. Clayton thinks that would be very unwise, and wants to wait until they've carried out some more tests. The controller says that he had the minister on the phone again, and he gave his promise to him that the bridge would reopen straight away. They've gone right over the bridge, and found nothing. Clayton worries about the load it'll have to carry, but the controller says it is well within the capacity of the bridge. The Martian Probe Rocket must get to the takeoff site without a hitch, and they're going to make sure it doesn't get held up at Allington Bridge!

The rocket is slowly being transported on the back of a large vehicle. It makes its way through a city. Inside the rocket are two technicians, Bill and Frank. Bill thinks this was a great idea, sending them over to England in the ship, as these tuning up jobs would have taken them another week.

Frank says if they don't meet this launching date, it'll be another four years before Mars is in the right position again. He gets a funny feeling inside when he thinks about this rocket. It's all set to take off to Mars, and it could take off just like that. What if something went wrong? Bill says nothing is going to go wrong, and he won't get thrown out into space. The countdown can't start until the rocket is up-ended to the go position. He tells him to quit worrying, he'll be back in San Diego with his wife and kids before they've even missed him.

The rocket continues to make its way towards Allington Bridge. It's filmed and shown on TV, where a report about it is watched by Brains and Penelope. Penelope makes some tea and tells Brains that she's giving him quite a weak cup, and asks if that's alright -as Americans usually prefer it that way.

Brains says he sure bets Professor Wingrove are the others are excited now that their project is nearing completion. He thinks it was nice of the Professor to invite him over to England to watch the blast off. Wingrove then appears on TV, and tells everyone that because of the present position of Mars, the firing has to take place from this side of the ocean. A launching of this site without the facilities of Cape Kennedy would cause a lot of problems, but they've solved the situation by making the space vehicle and countdown completely automatic. Penelope then switches the TV off and says that's enough of that for the time being. As hostess, in her home everything stops for tea. She asks Brains how Jeff and the boys are keeping.

At Tracy Island, Alan returns from a run, and says he's pooped. Gordon thinks he's just gone for a short sprint around the island, yet he's come back exhausted! He thinks Alan isn't fit, and Scott agrees, thinking a kid like Alan ought to be able to take things like that in his stride. Alan tells them he doesn't get it, they sit around all day waiting for the next meal, but they have the nerve to tell him he's not fit?

Jeff tells them that'll do. He knows all this waiting between operations is killing, but they'll get a call for help soon enough, they'll see. Grandma then comes in, looking upset. She says she's lost her personal edible transmitter, the one with the nice raspberry flavor she likes. Jeff says this is serious, those are for if there's an emergency where anyone gets captured and can't contact the base.

Grandma says she remembers seeing it on the kitchen shelf whilst she was fixing the apple pie. Scott says one of them must have eaten in, but Virgil thinks that's ridiculous, they always know when they've eaten their edible transmitters. Jeff says not necessarily, not now Brains has been able to make them really small. Alan claims he had a light lunch before going training, so he can't of eaten it. Jeff says they need to find out who has eaten it, or it might be blocking other signals. He tells Grandma to go and mix up some of that transmitter dissolver that Brains left the recipe for.

Jeff then changes Alan's portrait to show a map of the house. A red dot appears on the lounge, and Scott says one of them in this room has swallowed the transmitter. Jeff tells him to leave the room and see what happens. Scott gets up and leaves, but the dot remains. Jeff tells Gordon to go next, but Gordon says he'd know if he'd eaten the transmitter. Jeff tells him to go to his room, so Gordon gets up and leaves.

The dot remains, so Jeff tells Virgil he's the one who ate it. He tells him to go to his room and he'll have the medicine sent to him there. Virgil gets up and leaves, but Alan points something out: the signal is still showing that someone in this room has the transmitter inside them.

Tin-Tin then arrives with the medicine. Jeff laughs and says he'll go quietly, whilst Alan hides his face behind a magazine and starts laughing.

Meanwhile, the rocket approaches Allington Bridge. Frank thinks they must nearly be there, but Bill says they've got a few miles yet. They've got to cross the Allington suspension bridge first. The rocket starts to move across the bridge.

The controller is on the phone with the minister again, and says they're ready for the rocket to cross. The bridge has been closed to normal traffic, and the leading escort vehicles have just starts to cross. He ends the call and tells Clayton that it appears everything is proceeding exactly to schedule. Clayton hopes they aren't the ones to ruin it, but the controller tells him he knows as well as he does that this bridge can take the weight of this spacecraft easily. As he walks off, Clayton thinks the bridge can take the weight ok in evenly distributed traffic, but wonders if it can in one solid mass. The rocket continues to slowly drive across the bridge.

Clayton says the tonnage indicator is at maximum. The controller says he had no idea the rocket was going to go as slow as this. Clayton says it looks like the bridge can take it. The rocket keeps going, but isn't going very fast.

Suddenly, some cables on the bridge start to snap. The controller says the rocket isn't going to make it, as the bridge begins to shake and fall apart.

Part of the bridge falls apart, causing debris to fall all over the road. As the rocket begins to shake around, Frank tells Bill that they aren't going to make it. One of the supports then falls apart and explodes.

Part of the bridge completely collapses, and the rocket and its transporter fall into the water. The rocket falls off the transporter and sinks, where it hits the ocean floor upright and gets covered up by tons of debris. Frank says the automatic countdown has started, the impact must have started it -they're going to be blown to pieces!

Having seen the collapse on TV, Brains, Penelope and Parker head to the bridge in FAB 1. Penelope asks Brains what he plans to do once they get there, but he says he doesn't know. It'll depend on how bad it is, and he doesn't think he'd give much for the chances of the men in the rocket still being alive. Meanwhile, the controller is having another phone call with the minister, and says everything is under control. They've ordered three cranes from the Allington docks. Clayton says the cranes are here, so the controller tells the minister they'll soon have the men out, and will be handling the rescue from here. They haven't managed to make radio contact with them yet, but they will once the divers get a line down there. A diver swims down to the rocket, and gets a line attached.

Frank and Bill are trying to make contact with anyone. Frank says three hours have gone already, with no sign of any action. Meanwhile, FAB 1 has to come to a stop at a police roadblock. Penelope asks what the trouble is, and the constable there says there's a spot of trouble at the river. Penelope asks if he can let them through, but he says he wouldn't recommend it. A large crowd of sightseers has gathered at the bridge to watch the rescue operations, and the approaches are completely blocked.

Penelope says she hates crowds. As the constable leaves, Brains says he's simply got to get through, as he just couldn't face the fellas back at the base if he didn't try to do something. Penelope tells him to try and cross the fields here and make his own way to the bridge. She'll see if she can arrange some kind of rival attraction to draw the crowds away. As Brains gets out of the car, Penelope tells Parker to take the side road. FAB 1 moves off.

Clayton finds out that a diver has managed to get a radio link onto the hull of the rocket. Meanwhile, Bill and Frank discuss what they can do. Frank thinks there must be something in here they can do to stop the take off, but Bill says there isn't a thing. When the countdown starts, that's it. Frank suggests they smash up some of the equipment or something, but Bill thinks the whole thing would probably explode if they did that. The controller then contacts them.

Nearby, Parker and Penelope arrive at a place that Penelope says looks perfect. But she wants to be sure, so Parker drives FAB 1 further into the place. The controller finds out that in nine and a quarter hours the countdown will be complete, but he tells Frank and Bill not to worry. The cranes are in position, and they'll clear the bridge wreckage and have them out of there with time to spare. Frank says they sure are glad to hear that it's all in hand, but to be on the safe side, they should call International Rescue. The controller bawks at this idea, saying they're in full control up here.

Parker says there is no one here, and they're quite alone. Penelope tells him he knows what to do, and Parker says perfectly. He trusts this operation will be quite above board, and Penelope says absolutely. He deploys a cannon from FAB 1, which starts shooting at the empty buildings. Penelope tells Parker good shooting.

The controller asks what's going on over there, and Clayton says it seems to be coming from the old Allington research center. They must have started demolishing it, and whilst the controller thinks this is a fine time to start doing that, it has at least distracted the crowds. He then finds out that it's going to take an hour for the crane cables to be attached, which he isn't pleased about. But then Brains enters the control room and asks if he could be of any help. The controller asks how he got in here.

Brains says to never mind that, and asks what the position is. Clayton explains that the rocket has activated itself, and will blow up in just under eight hours. The controller tells Clayton it's not necessary to tell him the position. Brains asks if they've attempted to call International Rescue, and the controller says no they have not -this is a perfectly straightforward problem that they're capable of handling themselves! Brains asks if he's saying this is all the equipment they've got, so the controller asks what's wrong with it. Brains says this river dock stuff is antiquated, and at least 100 years out of date. The controller asks him if he's an expert on rescue.

As Brains struggles to answer, Clayton says they haven't got time to argue, and this guy is just trying to help. The controller says he supposes so, but they don't need any help from him or anyone else. Brains starts to argue, but the controller calls him a troublemaker and tells Clayton to keep an eye on him. They can't have this guy running all over the site, sticking his nose in. He tells Brains not to try and interfere with things he knows nothing about. Clayton tells Brains that the controller is upset and worried at the moment, but he asks him to keep out of sight. Brains backs off and uses his watch to call International Rescue.

John picks up his call. He asks Brains what's up, and Brains tells him to listen carefully -he has a job for him. John asks what he's whispering for, so Brains starts to explain what's going on. The controller and Clayton can't believe that this guy is talking into his watch, but the controller claims he knew all along that this man is a nut!

John contacts Tracy Island, and says there is now only seven hours until the rocket blasts off. Jeff tells him to tell Brains that they'll be there as soon as they can, as they've been waiting for some action. He then tells Scott to carry on, so Scott heads off to Thunderbird 1.

Virgil and Gordon board Thunderbird 2, which selects pod 4. Thunderbird 1 and Thunderbird 2 then take off, and head to England.

Meanwhile, the three cranes have finished setting up their cables. In the rocket, Franks thinks they haven't done anything, but Bill tells him it took them a while to fix the cables. He tells him to relax, but Frank tells him to take a look at that clock. Bill says there's still five more hours, but Frank says seven hours have gone.

The controller then contacts them and says they're ready for the big lift. Frank says it's about time too, and the controller says he's sorry they've been kept waiting, but it won't be long now. He then tells the crane operators to get that wreckage out of the way, so the cranes begin trying to lift pieces of debris from around the rocket. But they already begin to struggle.

Clayton says the cranes aren't going to make it, but the controller says they will -they've got to! However, crane 306 topples over and starts sinking. The other two cranes continue to try and pull out the wreckage, but then part of crane 307 explodes, disabling it.

Clayton says it didn't work, and they haven't got time to set up again. The controller wonders what to do, and Clayton doesn't think there is enough time left, even for International Rescue. Brains says he was thinking the same thing himself. Meanwhile, crane 306 sinks to the bottom, and crashes near the rocket.

Frank asks if control has tried contacting International Rescue yet. The controller says he hasn't, but says to clear the wavelength, as he's still trying. He tries to call International Rescue, but Brains tells him it's a waste of time to keep on trying with that thing. He says that International Rescue are on their way. The controller is about to start yelling at him, but then they hear the sound of an aircraft outside. They see that Thunderbird 1 has arrived.

Scott reports that he's arrived, and it looks pretty bad. But he can't do much until Virgil and Gordon arrive, and they are up to an hour behind him. Jeff asks about Brains, and Scott says Brains is up in the tower, but will try to guide them in from there. As more time passes, Bill says it has nearly been an hour since International Rescue arrived, so their equipment should be here any time now. Frank thinks International Rescue can't help them now, and they're going up with this rocket. Meanwhile, Thunderbird 2 arrives.

It drops its pod into the water, and Thunderbird 4 is soon dispatched. Brains contacts Gordon and whispers that he can't talk any louder. He asks what it's like down there, so Gordon gives him the full rundown. As Gordon explains things, Brains acknowledges what he's saying.

This gets the attention of the controller and Clayton, who see that Brains is talking to his watch again. The operator begins to wonder if Brains might have escaped from somewhere. Meanwhile, Thunderbird 4 approaches the rocket. Brains has told Gordon that once he's done, Thunderbird 2 can lift it in sections. Gordon says he'll try it, but it's going to take some time. He activates Thunderbird 4's laser beam, and uses it to start cutting through parts of the wreckage. Gordon tells Scott he needs about 20 minutes.

Gordon says it's clear, so Scott tells Virgil it's all his. Virgil flies Thunderbird 2 over, and deploys a grabber from it. He uses it to start picking up large chunks of the wreckage, and brings it back up.

He then dumps the collected wreckage in a nearby field. He starts doing this again, but it's taking too much time. Brains asks Gordon if the nosecone is cleared yet, but Gordon says it isn't, and there's only 15 minutes left. They'll never make it in time!

Brains says this may sound crazy, but this is what he wants him to do. He needs him to get the nosecone clear by firing the missiles. The controller says Brains is still at it, and seems to be under some delusion that he's in charge of the rescue! Clayton says they're desperate enough to listen to him. The controller says Brains has just suggested they should fire missiles! But Thunderbird 4 then does exactly that, firing two missiles.

These explode around the rocket. As things shake inside it, Frank asks what they're trying to do -blow them to pieces?! Bill says that don't need to bother, and points out how little time there is left. As the dirt clears away, Gordon tells Brains that the nosecone is now clear.

Brains explains to Scott what needs to happen next, and whilst he sort of doubts it'll work, it's all he can suggest. Scott says they'll try, and tells Virgil to stand by. Frank says it has gone quiet again, but Bill believes International Rescue won't give up until the end, and they must be planning something. Suddenly, Thunderbird 4 deploys two rods from its front, and then charges towards the rocket.

It hits the top of the rocket, causing the nosecone to break away. It floats up to the surface, whilst the rest of the rocket stays in place. Brains tells Gordon well done, and then tells Virgil that it's all his.

Virgil deploy another set of grabs, which get a hold of the nosecone. Frank says they're airborne, and are clear of the river. Bill says they've got half a minute to spare. Thunderbird 2 then flies away from the water, taking the nosecone along with it.

The countdown then reaches zero, and the rocket blasts off. It bursts out of the sea, but then turns around and explodes.

The controller says International Rescue have saved them, but they then notice Brains getting all excited. The controller asks who can save that poor boy over there, as he and Clayton watch Brains dance for joy. They decide to have him sent to Doctor Korda, a psychiatrist.

Korda asks Brains how long he's had this desire to talk to watches. He tells him to try and not be afraid, as he thinks he can help him. Before Brains can answer, Penelope arrives. Korda says she must be the person who telephoned, and he says this is a sad case. Penelope tells Brains to come along, as she's here to take him home.

Kodra really thinks Brains needs treatment, but Penelope says it's a hopeless case. She passes Korda some money to cover his expenses, and explains that Brains is being treated by ten of the best doctors in Europe. As Penelope and Brains leave, Brains thanks her. She tells him to think nothing of it, and that Parker is outside. As Brains leaves, Korda watches from the doorway.

He sees Penelope seemingly talking into a powder compact, not knowing that she's talking to Scott. Penelope tells Scott that she's got Brains, and they'll be straight home. As she leaves, Korda says first watches, now powder compacts... perhaps it's him, perhaps he should see a psychiatrist!

Everyone heads back to Penelope's home. They are contacted by Jeff, so Scott says he'll get it. He picks up a teapot, but Brains asks him what he's doing.

Scott says it's Dad calling them, and asks what's the matter with him. Brains says nothing, but tells Scott that if he's going to start talking to teapots, there's a guy he thinks he ought to see...