A jury finds Adam Grant guilty of murder, and the judge
sentences him to death. Grant laughs with despair, then exclaims that he refuses to die again. He frantically tries to tell those present – including
district attorney Henry Ritchie and newspaper editor Paul Carson – that he is dreaming, and if he is executed they will all cease to exist. Locked up on
death row, Grant describes the experience of dying in the
electric chair, to fellow prisoner Jiggs in graphic detail. Later, a drunk Carson shows up at Ritchie's house. He has been speaking to Grant, and fears the convict might be telling the truth. Ritchie's wife Carol, annoyed by Carson's outburst, goes to bed early, telling her husband that there are steaks almost ready in the oven. Carson argues to Ritchie that their lives seem impossibly perfect and encourages him to explore his own doubts. Back at the prison, Grant waits for Ritchie to arrive, noting the implausibility of Jiggs having a watch to tell him the time. Ritchie comes, and they have a conversation Grant has claimed to have had before with other DAs, enough times to mouth the man's words as he says them. Ritchie asks Grant why he cares about dying if it's all a dream, and Grant explains that he's tormented by having this same nightmare every night. As Ritchie leaves, Grant tries to prove that they're in a dream, by predicting that the steak Ritchie's wife had cooked will be something else. Ritchie rushes home and finds a roast in the oven. Jiggs suggests to Grant that he try to get a psychiatric exemption from execution. To prove his sanity to Jiggs, Grant points out logical errors accepted as normal by those around him, such as the fact that his trial, sentencing, and execution are happening on the same day. Meanwhile, at Ritchie's home, he and Carson wait for midnight, debating the likelihood that the execution time matches the one shown in movies. As Grant waits to be taken to the electric chair, Father Beaman visits him. Grant vaguely recalls him as a real priest who died when he was a boy. He further remembers that Carson is really the young priest who replaced Beaman but struggles to place Ritchie. Carson finally persuades Ritchie that either Grant is right or that he's insane, so he calls the governor for a
stay of execution. But the call comes seconds too late, Grant is executed, and the world blinks out. Grant finds himself back in the courtroom. He is being convicted and sentenced to death for murder again. The same people surround him in the courtroom, but their identities and roles have changed: Jiggs is now the judge, Carson is the jury foreman, Phillips is Grant's
public defender. ==Closing narration==