داستان این فیلم با تمرکز روی جولیوس رابرت اوپنهایمر، به ماجرای گروهی از دانشمندان پروژه‌ی منهتن می‌پردازد که بمب‌های اتم استفاده‌شده در شهرهای هیروشیما و ناکازاکی کشور ژاپن را برای ارتش آمریکا تولید کردند. تسلیم امپراطوری ژاپن در پی بمباران اتمی، به جنگ اقیانوس آرام خاتمه داد.

Physicist Ted Hall is recruited to join the Manhattan Project as a teenager and goes to Los Alamos with no idea what he'll be working on. When he learns the true nature of the weapon being designed, he fears the post-war risk of a nuclear holocaust and begins to pass significant information to the Soviet Union.

The Moment in Time documents the uncertain days of the beginning of World War II when it was feared the Nazis were developing the atomic bomb. The history of the bomb's development is traced through recollections of those who worked on what was known as "the gadget."

A documentary composed of historical footage and contemporary interviews from the men and women of Los Alamos, recalling their experiences of the community and the creation of the atomic bomb from the inception of the program in 1943.