High school student Dan Bartlett misses the plane he was supposed to be on with his rich girlfriend and her family on the way to a Caribbean vacation during a school break. He flies there alone, and runs into a series of characters and misadventures as he tries to catch up.

Rookie cop Sam Staziak has a unique gift: he is a Scanner, which gives him the power to read the thoughts of others, and also to inflict great bodily harm. When a mad scientist begins using mind control to murder police officers, Sam realizes that only he and his unique gift can put an end to the mayhem.

A scanner discovers a plot by renegade elements in the city government to take power with the help of evil scanners.@

Dr. Feinstone escapes from the mental hospital where he has been held ever since his wife's adultery sent him on a deranged killing spree. Hoping to resume a normal life, he makes his way to a quiet Midwestern town and establishes himself in a new practice under an assumed name. Things are starting to look up for Dr. 'Caine' – that is, until the day he catches his new love in the arms of someone else. As before, the impact of romantic betrayal sends him over the edge into madness and murder, with his unfortunate patients once again bearing the brunt of his hostility.

Polish Martin Gray recalls the Holocaust, New York prosperity, and losing his wife and family.