The Man Who Haunted Himself

Pelham's drive home ends in a reckless, high-speed crash on the road near London. On the operating table he briefly dies, and the monitor shows two heartbeats where there should be one. This near-death moment marks the start of the strange, doubled reality he will face.

After awakening, Pelham starts noticing odd phenomena: colleagues and friends swear they have seen him in places he cannot remember visiting. He acts in ways that feel alien to his routine, and memories begin to fracture.

A friend appears at his house for a drink he does not recall arranging, and an attractive girl at the company pool gives him a knowing look. His wife senses a change in their relationship and a lack of intimacy begins to worry him.

A mysterious silver car sits outside their house, and its driver lights a cigarette and snaps the match in half after blowing it out, mirroring Pelham's own habit. The presence of this taunting vehicle deepens the sense of a double shadowing him.

At the office, Pelham discovers he has supported a merger that he now opposes. He suspects a double is masquerading as him and shaping corporate events behind his back. The seed of corporate intrigue grows into a personal crisis.

On a night out with his wife at the company club, he tries to energize their relationship by gambling, but remains tense and detached. He bumps into the attractive girl again, who hints that his wife is unaware of their past. His wife becomes furious at the potential scandal.

Pelham confronts the girl later at her home, where she implies that an other version of him was having an affair. He denies it, realizing the double is actively manipulating his life. The tension between him and those around him continues to escalate.

Back at work, Pelham learns the merger is real and his opposition could jeopardize it. A rival executive explains how the double arranged the deal in secret meetings, each step serving the double's plan and the companys' hidden tech breakthrough. Three secret meetings are recalled: at The Monument, in the London Planetarium, and in a boat on The Serpentine.

Distraught, Pelham seeks help from Dr Harris, who argues that Pelham may be acting from subconscious urges to break free of his rigid lifestyle rather than being insane. He agrees to be admitted to the psychiatrist’s clinic for several days of observation.

Harris suggests adopting less conventional behavior, and Pelham goes to work dressed differently upon his discharge. The change is intended to loosen the grip of the double, but it accelerates the double's control in the absence of the real Pelham.

During Pelham's absence, the double finalises the merger and takes Pelham's wife out on the town, culminating in them sleeping together. Pelham remains unaware of these events until confronted later, increasing the stakes of their confrontation.

Pelham calls home from the office and is stunned when the line is answered by someone claiming to be himself. He drives home and discovers the double waiting, who insists he is the real Pelham. They agree to talk privately while the family and a close friend witness the moment.

The double flees when confronted, and Dr Harris witnesses a high-speed pursuit as the cars race toward a bridge in the rain. The real Pelham swerves into the river, and the image of the other briefly fades as the double clutches his chest in apparent pain.

In the final moment the double clutches his chest and, after a brief heartbeat, the image of the other collapses. The narrative ends with there being only one Pelham again, his identity restored, or perhaps redefined by the ordeal.