When a chemist begins working at the Joseph A. Campbell preserve company, he invents a condensed soup that brings this rare luxury to the nation for the first time. But as they try to get the word out to Americans who aren't yet accustomed to soup, it also attracts the attention of Henry Heinz, who becomes a bitter competitor in a race for revolutionary innovation and nationwide soup sales dominance.

Gilbert Swanson inherits his father's frozen turkey company and partners with a food chemist to innovate a revolutionary dinner that Americans can heat up at home.