To all external appearances, Colin Pasmore has a happy life: not yet 30, with a wife, three children, a nice home, and a good job as a university lecturer, everything seems to be going right. But after he is beset by a recurring nightmare, he begins to experience the terrifying sensation that his whole life is unravelling. He is suddenly unable to bear the presence of friends and family, incapable of touching or communicating with his wife, dissatisfied and even embarrassed by his job. He finds himself looking on in helpless horror, struggling to understand why his entire world is disintegrating around him.