Did the S&M just go too far or was it murder? Guilt-ridden PI Ethan Carr is hired by Constance Barnes, a troubled history professor at USC who claims she is being stalked by someone who is sending her cut-up photos of herself. When fellow professor Melanie Kowalski, who also received cut-up photos of herself, is murdered in brutal fashion suggesting S&M, Carr suspects Barnes is being stalked by a serial killer. However, Barnes has psychological issues and is being treated by a psychiatrist who says she could be imagining persecution due to paranoia. Nothing is ever as it seems in this taut psychological thriller as Carr peels away layer after layer of deceit until the final horror.