Adam Cole and his partner run a vaudeville-style mental act using secret passwords. However, the act threatens to fall apart since Cole is losing his hearing. While being treated by a doctor, he finds an antique hearing aid in the doctor's collection. Using it, he discoveres that he can read minds, but the mental messages ultimately build up and kill the user...unless he discharges them into a victim. Either way, the result is a messy death. The trio track down Cole performing his new act. Left with nowhere to run, Cole can't ""discharge"" the accumulated thoughts and dies a gory death.