When a space shuttle goes missing during a test flight, James Bond (Roger Moore) is the man who must track it down. His investigations take him to Venice (where he uses his specially customized gondola), Rio de Janeiro (where he fights steel-toothed henchman Jaws on top of a cable car), and finally into outer space (where he uncovers a ruthless plot to wipe out the human race and replace it with genetically engineered humanoids). Highlights include Bond's encounters with NASA scientist Dr Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles) and the climactic battle aboard villain Hugo Drax's (Michael Lonsdale) space station.

James Bond (Roger Moore), in his tenth screen outing, joins forces with a glamorous Russian spy (Barbara Bach) to outwit a megalomaniac shipping magnate (Curt Jurgens) who intends to achieve world domination by causing nuclear war between the superpowers. The film features the submersible Lotus Esprit, underwater battles, and 'Jaws', a seven-foot villain with steel teeth.