Delirious

Jack Gable, the lead writer and producer of Beyond Our Dreams, is consumed by work and harbors an unspoken attraction to Laura. Louise arrives to audition for Janet DuBois, pulling Jack into backstage power games and foreshadowing tensions to come. The Sherwoods' displeasure with Jack's outline hints at the season's turbulent direction.

The Sherwoods reveal their dissatisfaction with Jack's season outline and want to kill off Rachel due to Laura's contract demands. To push the changes, they secretly hire Arnie Fetterman, a rival writer, and hint at bringing in a new character, Jack Gates, though they won't promise to write him in. The episode-wide power struggle tightens around the show's future.

Planning a weekend trip to Vermont, Jack is interrupted by Laura's call; she has just broken up with her boyfriend Dennis and wants to accompany him. As they load the car, Dennis kisses Laura, and Jack watches in disbelief as the trunk lid hits him on the head. He awakens and heads to Vermont alone, only to crash not far out of New York.

Jack wakes in Ashford Falls Community Hospital, one of the show's settings, and initially suspects a prank by the actors. Looking out the window, he discovers a real town and realizes this is no dream. He convinces Dr. Kirkwood he's healthy, checks out, and is intercepted by Janet DuBois, who believes him to be Jack Gates seeking a miracle formula.

On a whim, Jack writes a scene about a local mechanic calling to say his damaged car is fixed; the mechanic confirms repairs, seemingly proving the control he now has. He realizes he can influence events by writing them, shifting from helpless victim to master of the narrative. This discovery marks a radical turn in his reality.

Jack uses his new power to pursue Rachel in the guise of Jack Gates, saving her from a death plot orchestrated by Arnie Fetterman. Although Rachel is engaged to Paul, she grows attracted to Jack as he rescues her and as Janet draws near. The intertwined attractions complicate loyalties within the town and on the show.

The Fetterman version of Jack Gates appears in town, but Jack sends him on a business trip to Cleveland, effectively sidelining the rival. Meanwhile, Jack continues to weave himself into the lives of Rachel and Janet, navigating the Hedison family's mounting pressure to obtain the formula. The meta-conflict between writers intensifies.

A party at the Hedison mansion becomes a turning point as Jack, still in Gates' guise, improvises to win favor. Before the party, he breaks his own typewriter in frustration, then, during the event, writes himself as a concert pianist and saves a choking guest with the Heimlich maneuver, embarrassing Paul. Rachel, impressed by his quick thinking, agrees to run away with him.

Helen Caldwell reveals Rachel and Janet were switched at birth, making Janet Carter's daughter. The revelation triggers crisis as Blake, suffering from medication side effects, confronts a gun-wielding Rachel; Rachel manipulates circumstances to push Janet toward death and enlists Kirkwood to kill Janet in surgery. The town spirals as loyalties fracture and lives hang in the balance.

Jack realizes Rachel's true nature and that his feelings for Janet are deeper than imagined. He rouses to repair his typewriter and write Janet back to health, but Gates returns and shoots Jack, smashing the typewriter in a final act of interference. The line between fiction and reality blurs under gunfire and shattered ink.

Jack wakes up back on the New York set of his own show, tended to by Laura and Dennis. He confronts Laura about her behavior and declares she will be fired, then challenges the Sherwoods about the show’s direction. Arlene nearly chokes on a sandwich, and Jack saves her with the Heimlich maneuver, signaling a renewed control over the production; he then locates Louise in a delicatessen and secures her the part of Janet, beginning a new relationship.

Louise accepts the role of Janet, and Jack begins a real relationship with her, as the power balance in the show shifts to his control. The film closes with Jack and Louise skating together in Central Park, while Jack narrates the events that have been happening on the show. The line between writer and reality remains blurred, but a new equilibrium has formed.