British medical student Martin E. Blake transfers to a Southern California hospital to start his residency. Outwardly charming, Martin is in reality a narcissist who longs to wield power over others. This attitude quickly alienates him from the nurses, whom he perceives as not respecting him to the extent he deserves. After Martin fails to endear himself to his first few patients and ends up on thin ice with his superiors, 18-year-old Diane Nixon comes in suffering from a kidney infection, which Martin treats. Diane and her family hail Martin as a hero, inflating his self-esteem. As Diane's health begins to improve, Martin begins tampering with her medications and intentionally botching her treatment while maintaining the illusion that he is doing everything within his power to nurse her back to health. Ultimately, he goes too far and accidentally kills Diane when he falls asleep during the night while watching her, after she becomes in critical condition. An orderly, Jimmy, discovers a diary in which Diane has recorded sexual fantasies about Martin. Recognizing that even the implication of an improper doctor-patient relationship could potentially damage Martin's career, Jimmy uses the diary to blackmail Martin into providing him with narcotics. When Jimmy reveals that he intends to never hand over the diary, Martin laces the drugs with potassium cyanide and kills Jimmy, then breaks into his locker and steals the diary. During the course of the criminal investigation in Jimmy's death, Martin is questioned by a police detective who comes to visit him at his home. Martin panics during the questioning, eventually locking himself in the bathroom and attempting to flush the diary down the toilet. When the toilet clogs, Martin climbs out the window and goes to the ocean, where he contemplates suicide. Instead, he sneaks back into his apartment and puts the diary in the garbage. With no evidence to implicate Martin in Jimmy's death, the detective leaves. An unspecified amount of time later, Martin returns to his duties at the hospital, assuring a young patient, "I'm getting better all the time."
reports that 66% of 29 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 6.2/10. On Metacritic, the film has a 52/100 rating based on ten reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Ronnie Scheib of Variety wrote, "Black comedy lurks just below the suspenseful surface, with more than a hint of Lolita-esque absurdity". Sura Wood of The Hollywood Reporter called it "a tense, psychosexual film" with a script that takes too few risks and does not explore Blake's origins satisfactorily.
