In the period following the American Civil War, entrepreneur and innovator Victor Barbicane develops a groundbreaking energy source known as Power X. His vision is to utilize this energy to fuel rockets, and to demonstrate its capabilities, he intends to launch a projectile to the moon. Accompanying him on this mission are his aide Ben Sharpe, his nemesis Stuyvesant Nicholl, and Nicholl’s daughter, Virginia. Nicholl, who believes that Power X defies divine will, sabotages the projectile to prevent their return to Earth, leading to a tense climax as they struggle to fix the projectile.