Two-part biography of President Harry S Truman. The first part recounts his early failures and his success as an army captain, which led to his vice presidency. The second part charts his unlikely rise to the presidency and his leadership during some of the major crises of the century.

He was a farmer, a haberdasher gone bankrupt, an unknown politician from Missouri who suddenly found himself president. Of all the men who had held office, he was the least prepared. Yet Harry S Truman would have to end the war with Germany and Japan, decide whether to use the most terrible weapon ever devised, confront the Soviet Union, and wage war in Korea. Produced, directed and written by David Grubin.