Henry Lime sells security fences to the rich and famous in Beverly Hills. Lately something's wrong: Henry can't sleep, his memory is slipping, he can't sell a thing.

He sees a television commercial for a new prescription drug called Lazarine. He takes it and it works like a charm. There is just with one small side-effect, Henry starts hallucinating. His hallucination is a woman named Amanda. Amanda won't disappear. She is determined to help Henry - no matter how much trouble she causes. Henry goes to see a German psychiatrist named Dr. Schmetterling. This doctor is more interested in planning his next holiday than in Henry's problem. Thrown into the mix is a 16-year-old runaway who lands at Henry's house, and a television star with psychic abilities called Aquarius. And there's also the film-noir detective hooked on horse racing...