Harry Benson suffers from violent seizures. So much so that he requires a police guard when entering a Los Angeles hospital for treatment. Dr. Roger McPherson, head of the prestigious Neuropsychiatric Research Unit, is convinced he can cure Benson through a procedure known as stage three. During this highly specialized surgery, electrodes are placed deep in Benson's brain, sending monitored soothing pulses to its pleasure canyons. The operation is a success-until Benson discovers how to get the pulses with increasing frequency. He escapes from the hospital, a homicidal maniac with a deadly agenda. A computer specialist who suffers from violent seizures has electrodes implanted in his brain to soothe his impulses and he soon learns to program the implants himself.