While the extremely wealthy and compulsive gambler Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch) waits for his friend Sir William W., he ambles aimlessly around his room looking for a book he can read. He then discovered a small exercise book by Dr. Chatterjee (Dev Patel) on the life of Imhrat Khan (Ben Kingsley), a performer who can see without his eyes.
Henry Sugar thinks that Khan’s ability will help him win games in casinos. So he goes through the same training described in the book to also gain the same power. After three years and three months of concentrated work, Henry Sugar can now read the back of a card in five seconds.
He quickly amassed a huge amount of wealth from gambling because of it. But despite his great success, Henry Sugar was puzzled by the little satisfaction he felt. There was no thrill, no suspense, and no danger of losing anymore. Could it be that his newfound ability somewhat altered him inside?