Before he was a recluse, Howard Hughes was one of the most famous and daring men in America. Inheriting a fortune from his father's revolutionary oil drill bit, Hughes funneled his wealth into his two great passions: aviation and filmmaking. This episode chronicles the early life of the dashing, fearless Hughes, who directed Hollywood epics like Hell's Angels, dated screen legends, and personally set world air-speed records in planes of his own design. He was a national hero, a symbol of American ingenuity and courage.

We explore his relentless ambition and his willingness to risk his own life to push the boundaries of technology, culminating in a near-fatal crash of a spy plane he was testing for the U.S. military. This was Hughes at his peak: a handsome, brilliant, and unpredictable industrialist who captivated the public imagination. We examine the innovative spirit that drove him to build a business empire that spanned from TWA airlines to major defense contracts. His obsession with perfection and his disregard for cost were the hallmarks of his genius.

But beneath the surface of the celebrated aviator and playboy, a darker side was beginning to emerge. The obsessive-compulsive tendencies and the deep-seated paranoia that would later consume him were already taking root. This is the story of Howard Hughes before he disappeared from the world, when he was still its master.