Anna Gilman is at the top of her class in graduate school and is about to start her internship in psychiatric nursing at Westborough State Hospital; however, when she arrives, her supervisor, Valerie Martin, warns her not to settle in. With Valerie's words ringing in her ears and a new group of patients arriving, Anna begins to sense that something isn't quite right about the asylum. Peder Roderick is a handsome, enigmatic literature professor who has been in and out of asylums for most of his adult life. For some reason, he has his eye on Anna who is well aware that Peder has a history of violence. As Anna struggles to keep her increasing uneasiness and anxiety at bay, Peder pursues her relentlessly, tormenting her and sending her spiraling out of control until Anna realizes that nothing at Westborough State Hospital is what it seems.