When Chance's best friend Alex is coaxed into dropping out of college for a girl who introduces him to a pyramid scheme operated by Mr. Montgomery, Chance knows that something mysterious is up, which is confirmed when he receives a call to say that Alex has been committed to Westacres - a psychiatric hospital. When Chance visits Westacres, Alex is adamant that he is not mentally ill and he can't remember why or how he was committed, but the next time Chance visits Alex his condition has significantly deteriorated. When Chance discovers that Mr. Montgomery is actually Dr. Montgomery - the psychiatrist at Westacres - Chance realises that Alex is involved in more than just a pyramid scheme; he is the victim of a cult. Chance makes it his mission to expose Dr. Montgomery for the fraud that he is and so he admits himself into Westacres as a pseudo-patient, where he discovers that Dr. Montgomery is drugging the patients and using menticide to get them to join his cult. Considering that everybody in Westacres is mentally ill, Chance doesn't know who he can trust, until he meets Hope - a girl who is immune to Dr. Montgomery's menticide.