Major Charles Ingram doesn't like quizzes, but for his wife Diana and brother-in-law Adrian knowing the answer is a way of life. As Diana and Adrian's repeated attempts to get into the hotseat on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? fall short, all eyes turn to an unsuspecting Charles to win the million-pound prize. Meanwhile, the repeated reappearance of middle-class, professional quizzers has not gone unnoticed by the ITV team and producer Paul Smith makes a vow to stop them by any means necessary.

Charles returns for a second night in the hot seat with a new strategy. After his previously hopeless performance, he proves massively successful, his dithering answers invariably turning out to be right. However, the production team find his sudden change of fortunes suspicious, and begin looking into an unusual pattern of coughing from the studio audience.

Hapless Charles, the man who has never heard of Craig David (one of his questions) is a national laughing stock amid accusations that he hit on right answers after affirmation coughs from his co-conspirators. Persecuted and hounded by the public and press, Charles, Diana and Tecwen head to court. But his barrister works hard to try to convince the jury that Charles and his wife are innocent. At first it seems the case for the prosecution is solid, but as the case for the defence gets underway, the jury learn there is far more to the story than they first thought.