Pyros

Montreal-based Groupe Fiatlux-Ampleman (GFA) is chosen to put on a fireworks show at the worlds largest winter festival, Carnaval, in Quebec City. But moments before the show starts, Head Pyrotech Philippe struggles to light the warning shell. Later, GFA participates in the festivals closing parade with a custom float that spits fire and launches fireworks. The show, however, is cut short as high winds prove dangerous. Philippe and Sebastien head to Valencia, Spain to learn from the best of the best during the "Las Fallas Festival."

GFA puts on not one but two New Years Eve events simultaneously, one in Quebec City, and one in Rio de Janeiro where Sebastien worries about his own safety at the worlds biggest fireworks show. Philippe joins Maude and Eric in Barcelona to shop at a famous fireworks factory and test out some of the worlds best pyro. And Philippe and Sebastien learn from the pros in Valencia and take part in La Crema the burning of huge and elaborate sculptures in the public square.

GFA endures public humiliation when human error puts a damper on the companys most important shows and Quebecs biggest national holiday, St-Jean-Baptiste Day. As the pyros set up fireworks in 17 different cities throughout the province, they hit major snags. Meanwhile, across the country in Vancouver, the pyros run for cover from fallout from their own brilliance.

GFA reaches their breaking point when thunderstorms put a damper on their back-to-back shows on a lake in Ste-Agathe. As the pyros battle wind and water, mishaps quickly multiply and suddenly everyones safety is at risk. Across the Atlantic at an international competition on the coast of France, Philippe and Benoit quickly realize no one plays by the rules and that their supplier has sent them the wrong products. Outgunned by their competitors, the underdogs find that fate has a way of defying expectations.

At the biggest fireworks competition in the world - L'International des Feux Loto-Québec in Montreal Maude, Eric, Sebastien and Philippe help their British friends stage an ambitious show, power-packed with over 10,000 effects. The work goes well until the night before the show when a flash flood wipes out their set-up. Then in Berlin, Eric, Benoit, Hugues, and Philippe take on five European teams at Pyronale, the World Cup of fireworks. A festival they expect to be genteel and refined turns into a bare-knuckle battle as each team pulls out all the stops to launch the most impressive show and bring home a gold trophy.

At an international competition in Blackpool England, the team fights hard to live down their defeat in Berlin, but their shot at a trophy is going to depend on flawless help from the locals. Back in Quebec, teams from five nations are counting on GFA to help them pull off an epic finale at the provinces highest waterfall, combining design and pyro from all five teams. Still stinging from their bad trip overseas, theyre determined to do right by their international colleagues, but logistical and technical problems put their commitment to the test.

In Campeche, Mexico, Philippe and Sebastien are called on to rig one of the most extraordinary installations of their careers cramming the roof of a historic 16th century cathedral with explosives. Working with one of the countrys top pyrotechnic artists, they find out that doing fireworks Mexican style means breaking all the rules. In Korea, Eric, Philippe, and Benoit take part in one of the most spectacular fireworks events ever staged. Over a million spectators witness an incredible, cutting-edge pyro extravaganza, with shows by Japan, Portugal, and Korea. The astonishing and innovative effects leave the boys from GFA shaking their heads in amazement and determined to up their own gamestarting now.