Hugo Swann, the son of an eminent psychiatrist, is a shy social misfit in his first term at Oxford University. With a new girlfriend and new experiences, things are looking up until a series of strange dreams start plaguing him. When his father offers psychiatric treatment to a mysterious woman with a troubled past, Hugo's dreams begin to worsen. Before long, their paths will cross, but as Hugo tries to help the woman, he finds himself in need of psychiatric assessment. As catastrophe looms, it's down to Alice, Hugo's brilliant girlfriend, to find the answers. But will he want to learn the truth of what she discovers? Dreams: when reality is worse than a nightmare.