Lord of Illusions

In 1982, William Nix, calling himself 'The Puritan,' gathers a cult in an old desert house in the Mojave and declares he will sacrifice a girl to save the world. He wields real magic and exhorts his followers to prepare for the rite. A group of former cult members, including Philip Swann and Caspar Quaid, arrives to stop him, while Nix's assistant Butterfield attempts to flee.

The kidnapped girl shoots Nix through the heart, crippling his ritual. Philip Swann fastens an ironwork mask over Nix's head to bind him and his power, while the others overpower his loyalists. They bury Nix in an unmarked grave, ending the immediate threat.

Thirteen years later, in New York City, occult-specializing private detective Harry D'Amour is shaken by an exorcism case and travels toward Los Angeles for work. He encounters Caspar Quaid, now a fortune teller, who is attacked by Butterfield and Ray Miller and dies after reading D'Amour's palm. Quaid warns that the Puritan is coming before he dies.

Philip Swann, now a famous stage illusionist, lives in a Beverly Hills mansion with his wife Dorothea. D'Amour is hired by Dorothea to protect Philip after Quaid's death and attends his next show, where a new illusion goes wrong and Philip is stabbed on stage. Butterfield escapes during the backstage chaos.

Backstage, D'Amour discovers that Philip's 'illusions' are powered by real magic he learned from Nix, hidden within the secrets of the magic world. The discovery deepens the danger and links Philip's performances to the cult's dark legacy. The revelation shifts D'Amour’s view of the case from trick to threat.

Dorothea reveals to D'Amour that she was the girl Nix kidnapped years ago and was rescued by Philip, marrying him out of gratitude. The two sleep together, but later D'Amour is attacked by supernatural forces. He opens Philip's coffin to find the body is fake, confirming the ruse.

At Philip's funeral, D'Amour follows a suspicious man who turns out to be Philip in disguise, admitting he faked his death to keep wealth and safety from Nix. D'Amour convinces him that they should work together to defeat the loyal cultists and Nix if he returns.

Butterfield tortures Valentin for the location of Nix's body, then takes Dorothea hostage. They locate Nix's corpse and Butterfield kills Valentin before returning to the cult's desert house with the body. Nix's loyalists have waited, and they begin the resurrection.

Nix's loyalists remove his bindings and resurrect him. He shatters the ground with a deep chasm that swallows the cultists, declaring that only Swann is worthy of his knowledge. The desert house trembles as the ritual recommences.

Nix drops Dorothea into the chasm, but D'Amour rescues her and kills Butterfield. Nix reveals his true intent was destruction, offering Philip a chance to join him, though Philip cares for Dorothea. The conflict escalates into a final confrontation.

Nix strikes with magic, apparently killing Philip. Dorothea finds D'Amour's gun and shoots Nix in his mystical third eye, provoking a savage retort from the fallen god-like sorcerer. The room grows heavy with magic and danger as hope wanes.

Philip uses his last life energy and magic to assist D'Amour in delivering a final blow to Nix, then dies from his wounds. Nix falls to the bottom of the chasm and plummets into molten rock, his power seemingly extinguished for the moment.

In a last act of defiance, Nix launches a spell that disintegrates Philip's body down to bones and seals the chasm. The pool of molten rock remains, and the desert house settles into ominous silence after the chaotic confrontation.

Dorothea and D'Amour manage to recover and escape the burning desert house together. They walk off into the night, bearing the weight of their shared ordeal and the uncertain future of a world threatened by dark power.