LOLA

Thom Hanbury and her sister Mars grow up as orphans in an isolated house in the English countryside. Thom becomes an inventive mind and creates Lola, a machine named after their late mother. They primarily use Lola to listen to music from the future, keeping their world small and secret.

Lola proves able to tap into radio and television signals from the future, expanding their secret domain beyond music. The sisters begin to explore what Lola can do, glimpsing events and sounds from times yet to come. Their life becomes more bound to Lola's eerie powers.

When the Second World War erupts and the Blitz darkens England, the sisters start listening to future news bulletins and broadcast clandestine messages warning civilians to take cover from impending German air raids. Their warnings save many lives and draw the attention of military authorities. Lola's power becomes a potential strategic asset.

Lt. Sebastian Holloway of the Royal Corps of Signals traces the broadcasts and identifies Lola as the source. He brings his superior Cobcroft to the house to view the machine and determine whether to harness Lola's information. Cobcroft remains skeptical but allows Holloway to stay to authenticate and coordinate the messages.

Using Lola's future-derived messages, the Royal Air Force destroys a significant number of German bombers. The Luftwaffe cancels further raids over Britain as a result. The sisters' secret work proves to have real military impact and changes the balance of air power.

Mars begins a romantic relationship with Holloway, while Thom becomes increasingly seduced by Lola's power and banishes Mars and Holloway from the house to work undisturbed. Lola's influence begins to fracture family ties and loyalties. The sisters' dynamic shifts as their secrets deepen.

In a glimpse of the future accessed by Lola, Mars tunes in to a 1973 TV appearance by David Bowie, only to find he has been replaced by Reginald Watson whose music carries fascist themes. The incident demonstrates Lola’s unsettling ability to alter cultural content in the future. The sisters' experiments drift further from harmless curiosity.

Thom orchestrates a signal-based trap for German U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic. The operation unintentionally contributes to the German sinking of the American ship SS Abraham Lincoln, killing 2,000 people. The revelation that Britain knew in advance of the attack damages American support and shifts the balance of the Allied partnership.

With American entry wavering, the Germans mount a second invasion of Britain. Thom hears signals indicating an invasion would land near Southampton, but the real invasion lands at Dover the next day, revealing Lola’s deception. Cobcroft grows suspicious that the sisters are double agents.

Cobcroft has Thom and Mars arrested, tried, and sentenced to death for treason. The courtroom case centers on Lola’s influence over events and the sisters’ alleged manipulation of the war. The sisters’ fates hang in the balance as the war rages outside.

As a German attack rages on London, Holloway and Mars escape to Cornwall, using the chaos to flee. Thom is freed by the Germans and becomes a collaborator with a new fascist government led by Oswald Mosley and Edward VIII. She rises as a scientist within the regime, believing her research aims to perfect society.

On a visit by Adolf Hitler to Thom’s house, Mars is captured and hanged by the Germans after a counterattack. The violence culminates with Mars’s act of defiance and Thom attempting to intervene. Thom is fatally wounded by a German soldier while trying to rescue Mars.

In the aftermath, Mars reveals that she made the movie to warn a past Thom and deter further Lola experimentation. The ending emphasizes caution about meddling with time and power. A closing title card notes Lola has never been found and shows a VE Day photograph of the Hanbury sisters.