Eddie is a con artist. When he's framed and comes before a judge, he hopes to get off the hook by climbing insanity—but instead ends up in a hospital for a mental assessment. That night, a storm causes a power failure and, in the ensuing chaos, Eddie is mistaken for a doctor and suddenly finds himself in charge of the hospital.

A hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him, in order to track down a killer.