Cpt. Walker's (Robert Powell) plane is shot down during World War II and he is presumed dead. Nora Walker (Ann-Margret), his widow, meets Frank Hobbs (Oliver Reed) while her son Tommy is attending "Bernie's Holiday Camp" and they quickly marry--but Captain Walker is on his way home. Tommy follows his silhouette and sees his murder through a mirror that captures his and his father's souls. Nora and Frank tell the boy that he didn't see it or hear it, and he must never speak of it. This causes Tommy (Roger Daltrey) to go blind, deaf, and mute. They try a few cures, such as a preacher (Eric Clapton) who believes Marilyn Monroe can heal, and a woman called "The Acid Queen" (Tina Turner). They then give up and leave Tommy with relatives: first Cousin Kevin (Paul Nicholas) tortures him, then Uncle Ernie (Keith Moon) molests him. They finally decide to leave him by the mirror, which he curiously stares into all day long. He sees himself beckoning to him, and he follows--straight to a junkyard where he finds the device that will transform his life: a pinball machine. Beating even the biggest pinball "Champ" (Elton John) at the game, Tommy becomes the world's greatest player, which makes his family rich. They go to a doctor (Jack Nicholson) who tells them they need to find some kind of shock to bring Tommy back into their world. The shock comes in the breaking of the mirror, which frees his soul. He believes that he is the new Messiah, and a religious cult forms around him. But when his followers reject him, all Hell is about to break loose for him.