Portal 1 transports us into Shorter’s childhood, filled with comics and movies that serendipitously lead him to music. He writes and plays with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, records stunning solo compositions for Blue Note Records and joins the Miles Davis Quintet. Shorter’s virtuosity and arrangements take Davis in a new direction, inspiring the titles of some Miles Davis Quintet albums.

Portal 2 explores Shorter's struggle with trauma and addiction. He discovers Buddhism. He and Joseph Zawinul form the popular jazz rock group Weather Report and become pioneers of the jazz rock movement. Shorter collaborates with Milton Nascimentos, Joni Mitchell, and Herbie Hancock, marking this era as the most commercially successful period of his career.