1952, New York. Marty Mauser, a 23-year-old ambitious and talented table tennis player, is working temporarily as a shoe salesman to save up for a ticket to the UK. His goal is to become the first American to win the British Open. His boss offers him a managerial position, but the young man dreams only of the championship title and fame. Upon learning that his boss has left town for the weekend and didn’t leave him his monthly salary, Marty, threatening his colleague with a gun, forces him to hand over the money owed to him from the safe, quits his job, and heads to London to compete in the tournament.