Within the confines of an abandoned rural farmhouse, Carl Stargher, a psychologically disturbed killer has built The Cell, a glass-encased chamber where he drowns his innocent female victims before continuing a sadistic post-mortem ritual with their bodies. As the FBI finally closes in on the killer, he is rendered comatose by a violent seizure and is ultimately apprehended into their custody, but not before leaving his latest victim alive in The Cell with only forty hours to live. Unfortunately, only Stargher knows where she is. Enter Catherine Deane. Deane, a child therapist, is part of an advanced neurological study at the Campbell Center, a research division of a large pharmaceutical company, where she's been using her empathetic abilities along with breakthrough technology to enter into the mind of a catatonic young boy to help bring him back to his loving parents. While FBI agents Peter Novak and his partner Gordon Ramsey follow clues to uncover the missing girl's whereabouts, the FBI enlist Catherine to use her "gift" to embark on an uncharted and perilous journey through Stargher's demented mind.