This intriguing story starts with the nuclear war that destroyed the world and all living creatures. But we can guess it only from the dialogues: the world still exists despite the wrack. George Orr, the main character, comes to himself but can hardly understand what is going around. The doctor says he overdosed drugs and sends him for Voluntary Therapeutic Treatment.
Next George meets William Haber – his treating doctor. Haber from the first sight makes out the psychological portrait of his patient: unaggressive, placid, milquetoast, repressed, conventional. George tells Haber about his dreams that change reality, but Haber hardly believes him. But he still has to treat George, so he decides to use the Augmentor – his experimental machine that discovers the brain activity while sleeping and dreaming and in this way to find out what is in George’s mind. Haber hypnotizes George to dream a horse. And there the 1st effective dream is pictured: Mount Hood image on the wall of the room was substituted with the image of a horse with the detail that only George can notice this change: Dr. Haber is sure there always has been the horse and just feels embarrassed when George says about such change.
Before the second séance Dr. Haber analyses the Augmentor showings on George’s dreams and claims that his brain do works differently. For the 2nd time George dreams Haber talking with President Kennedy, and the rain in real life stops. After the séance George thinks whether Haber believe him or not.
Next the author drives the reader to office where Heather Lelache, a lawyer, works. He suspects Dr. Haber to use his effective dreams for his own benefit and asks Heather to inspect one of the séances. The proof: George’s new cabin which he won in lottery. It doesn’t seem to be strange for Heather: as it has been a reality of their city for years. But then George claims this reality didn’t exist until his latest dream. Heather agrees to help George.
Next time Haber works on George’s dreams in new Oregon Oneirological Institute – created “on Haber’s request” by means of dreams; Heather comes to conduct an inspection. This time Dr. Haber hypnotizes George to solve the over-population problem. And the solving comes: after dreaming the population reduces from 7 billion to 1 billion. Haber tries to hide this fact from Heather; when she leave office he finishes a glass of whisky “To a better world!”.
Haber continues to use George’s dreams. George wants to stop this, but can’t: he must adhere to the letter of law and get treated, so he has to obey Haber. Next problem doctor wants to settle – war in Isragypt (name given to the territory conflict takes place at). And George’s subconsciousness settles it, as usual, in its own way – now all the people have to unite against the aliens invaded on the Moon. Dr. Haber now can’t understand what he does, and George is afraid of troubles doctor can cause.
George missed the meeting with Miss Lelache. Angry lawyer finds him in his cabin far in forest reserve area. George was exhausted with a lack of sleep. Heather’s anger changes into sympathy: they talk sometime and have supper. Heather offers George to hypnotize him as she had some appropriate skills. Heather’s instruction included Dr. Haber being frank and generous and the Moon without aliens. George wakes up and tells that aliens now land the planet. All around is falling to the ground as people try to protect themselves from the aliens. George comes to Haber’s office and gets hypnotized. While dreaming an alien gets into Haber’s room and explains that their landing is peaceful and asks to call back the air forces. George wakes up and says that the content of his dream was the same: the Augmentor actually speeds up George’s dreams. Haber carries the alien’s request out.
Next two séances changed the world greatly: the world is now in peace, the city looks well filled up with new skyscrapers, the aliens live side by side with people and racism doesn’t exist anymore as all the people have light grey skin color (again George’s subconsciousness works independently as Dr. Haber expected the problem of racism was solved in politics dimension). But George can’t find Heather – she disappeared. Althought Dr. Haber doesn’t regret about it and doesn’t listen to George refusing him – Haber is absorbed with the idea of world order and complete freedom. To make it real he tries to reproduce the effective dreams using his own mind.
In next chapter Heather is still with George (obviously the aliens he met earlier in the street and in the shop gave him some knowledge that helped him to control dreams). Now they are married and enjoy their company. But soon the idyll breaks – George feel Dr. Haber having an effective dream and hastens to stop this. Fighting against the fear of emptiness and darkness caused by Haber’s dream, George manages to save the world by shutting the Augmentor off, but again he loses his wife.
In the last chapter all people live their own lives, as the remnants of former destruction have almost vanished. William Haber is kept at the Federal Asylum for the Insane at Linnton, which was filled up with patient after the last reality shift. Looking at new dishes, designed by himself, George suddenly meets Heather. She is the same lawyer as she was at the 1st time they met each other, but she doesn’t remember George. Despite of this he is ready to won this woman again and invites her for a cup of coffee. The alien watches them walking together in the summer rain from the shop.
