When Ordell Arrant is selected as the first participant of an invative, psychological form of criminal rehabilitation, he is in for a journey, thrust into a world he never knew existed. Arrant is sent into an alternate reality where he becomes one with his victim, Gerard Auclair. Following the attack on Gerard, he becomes comatose. During this time, his caring mother learns that Gerard is paralyzed. Awakening from the coma state, Gerard comes to learn exactly what suffering means. Through thoughts and emotions, Gerard isolates himself, unable to see the positive things and beauty surrounding him. When his mother passes away, Gerard is sent to a psychiatric ward where he is often neglected and abused until his own death when he is reintroduced as Ordell Arrant. Arrant is returned to his own world and comes to view human beings with a greater sense of unconditional empathy.