Coma

Nancy Greenly, a healthy young woman, suffers brain death after a routine procedure at Boston Memorial Hospital. Dr. Susan Wheeler is devastated and begins to question whether something went wrong in the hospital. Nancy's death triggers Susan to look for patterns that might indicate a larger problem.

Susan discovers that over the past year, multiple fit, young patients have fallen comatose after surgery. All of these surgeries took place in operating room #8 and included a tissue-type sample before transfer to the Jefferson Institute. She begins to suspect a deliberate mechanism rather than coincidence.

She requests access to relevant patient charts and confronts the Chief of Anesthesiology, Dr. George. The confrontation offends him and he warns her about her standing at the hospital. The clash contributes to Susan's growing isolation and mounting pressure from superiors.

At the hospital morgue, Susan asks pathologists about how someone could deliberately cause a coma without detection. One pathologist mentions carbon monoxide poisoning as a possibility. The idea plants a lead that someone could be poisoning patients through the anesthesia system.

Dr. Harris chastises Susan for her behavior and insists she speak with a psychiatrist as a condition of staying on staff. He is sympathetic enough to grant her a weekend off to cope with grief and stress. The mounting pressure pushes Susan toward stepping back from the case for now.

Susan and Mark spend a quiet weekend by the seaside to decompress. On the drive back, Susan spots a highway sign for the Jefferson Institute and decides to investigate. Mark waits in the car while she goes inside the austere facility.

That night, Kelly, a hospital maintenance worker who tipped Susan to the truth, is fatally electrocuted by an unknown assailant. Susan follows the trail to the hospital basement and discovers a tank with a line that runs through the ventilation system to OR 8. The line shows that carbon monoxide is being pumped into anesthesia equipment to render patients brain-dead.

The man stalking Susan closes in at the hospital and makes an attempt to attack her. After a brief struggle, she escapes and traps him in the anatomy lab cadaver cooler. This close encounter confirms a targeted threat behind the hospital's operations.

Susan decides to join the restricted tour at Jefferson Institute, under the impression it is a legitimate advanced care facility. She quickly discovers that Jefferson Institute is a cover for an international organ black market. Her discovery sets off a dangerous effort to expose the scheme.

Susan escapes atop an ambulance as it leaves the Jefferson Institute compound, transporting harvested organs toward the airport. She races to expose the crime and reach authorities. The escape heightens the stakes as the operation tries to stay under the radar.

Believing Dr. George to be the operation's mastermind, Susan goes to Dr. Harris for answers. He offers her a drink and she quickly becomes incapacitated, experiencing abdominal pain that mimics appendicitis. She realizes that Dr. George is actually Dr. George Harris.

As Susan is prepped for surgery, Mark notices the gas line in OR 8 and destroys it to foil the plan. Susan awakens after surgery, and two police officers summoned by Mark are waiting outside to arrest Dr. Harris. The mastermind is finally brought to justice.