Nathaniel Pickman Wingate [Jeff Robins], a bumbling mad scientist at Miskatonic University, teeters on the edge of a breakthrough as his wife Nancy Wingate [Laura O'Malley] and the rest of the family frantically prepare for his fiftieth birthday. When his experiment finally breaches a portal to a parallel dimension, two triops-like creatures slip free and begin a chilling game of deception. These beings possess extraordinary shapeshifting abilities, allowing them to take on the form and identity of anything they encounter, and they waste no time slipping into the lives around them.
The two intruders quickly impersonate high-value targets, starting with Nancy's cousin Count Desmon [Christopher Gasti] of Liechtenstein and Jasmine [Dru-Anne Perry], a model whose image hangs in Sam Wingate's [Dan Evans] room. Jasmine and Desmon turn out to be complete behavioral opposites. Jasmine is warm, perceptive, and telepathic, and she seizes the chance to become Sam's girlfriend with ease. Desmon, by contrast, is illicitly playful, antagonistic, and utterly self-serving, using his disguises to sow chaos and mischief wherever he goes.
Desmon’s pranks escalate quickly. He uses his abilities to torment the Wingate household—Lindy [Allison Rachel Golde], who overuses the telephone, becomes the target of a cruel prank that leaves her in the ER after the device jams the receiver into her mouth. The danger intensifies when he manipulates wires, delivering a painful electric shock to Handyman Floyd [Chuck Bartelle], who is caught in the middle of the malevolent caper. Emma [Lynn Applebaum], the maid, is driven away in fear as Desmon attempts to seduce her, revealing just how far his power can reach within the family’s private space.
The disturbances attract the attention of Reverend Lawrence Newman [David Allan Shaw], Nathan’s college roommate, whose own professional and personal boundaries are tested as Desmon uses his powers in shocking ways. The imposter also targets Angelica Wingate [Kate Alexander], Nathan’s sister, pushing boundaries in unsettling fashion. In a particularly unsettling moment, Desmon clings to the ceiling and uses his abilities to transform Newman’s anatomy in a way that makes a disturbing intrusion even more perilous.
With the household shaken, Sam Wingate [Dan Evans], Jasmine, and Sam’s best friend Alex [Andrew Ross Litzky] race to secure coolant supplies from the university—an emergency measure needed to prevent a catastrophic explosion that could threaten half the planet. Throughout the ordeal, Jasmine remains focused on stopping Desmon and finding a way back to their own dimension, even as her loyalty to Sam grows stronger. Their strange alliance leads them to a retro, 1950s-style malt shop, where Jasmine and Sam share a milkshake with two straws and consider the uncertain future together.
As the situation spirals, the true danger becomes clear: the shapeshifters are not just intruders, but a direct threat to the fabric of both worlds. The team must outwit Desmon’s mischief, uncover the creatures’ weaknesses, and protect Nancy, Angelica, and the entire Wingate family from being consumed by an otherworldly copycat menace. In the midst of danger and bizarre supernatural hijinks, the human connections—family, friendship, and a budding romance—offer hope that even a portal to another dimension can be faced with courage, wit, and a little nostalgia.
