Trance

Jack Deth, a 23rd-century police trooper, is pulled back into service to track Martin Whistler. He relies on a bracelet that can identify people under Whistler's trance. The mission is to prevent Whistler from turning more people into mindless killers.

Whistler uses psychic powers to turn ordinary people into controlled Trancers who follow his commands. At first they appear as normal humans, but when triggered they become savage and deformed.

Whistler escapes to 1985 using a drug-assisted time-travel technique. His goal is to manipulate the past so his future dominance remains intact. Deth immediately pursues him across centuries.

In the past, Whistler's consciousness takes over Los Angeles police detective Weisling. The body becomes a vessel through which Whistler can continue his plan in the present. Deth becomes aware of the haunting possession.

Deth discovers Whistler's possession and destroys the body, effectively stranding the criminal consciousness in the 1985 past. With no vessel to return to, Whistler is locked out of the present. The stage is set for a chase through time.

To continue the pursuit, Deth inhabits journalist Phil Dethton's body, taking on a new identity in 1985. He uses this disguise to follow Whistler's trail and plan a counterattack. Lena becomes involved as a partner in this mission.

Lena, Phil Dethton's date from the night before, teams up with Deth to track Whistler as he transes victims. Her street-smarts and courage help them survive the traps and danger of 1985's LA. The unlikely duo forms the core of the resistance against the Trancers.

Whistler escalates his plan by seeking to eliminate the ancestors of Angel City's future council members. Each murder erases part of the lineage that keeps the council intact. Deth struggles to prevent these killings while keeping his own cover.

Deth discovers Hap Ashby, a washed-up baseball player who is the ancestor of Chairman Ashe. He intervenes to shield Hap from Whistler's attempts, hoping to preserve the future leadership's lineage. The stakes are personal as well as political.

Deth receives high-tech gear in the past: a sidearm with two hidden time-drug vials for returning to the future and a long-second wristwatch that can slow time. The watch is limited to a single use, but a second watch arrives later to extend his options.

During the climactic fight, one of the time vials shatters, leaving Deth with only one vial to reach the future. The broken vial forces a life-and-death decision that will determine who returns.

Jack makes the choice to inject Weisling with the remaining vial, saving the lieutenant but sending Whistler back to 2247. He decides to stay with Lena in 1985. His future boss McNulty is shown observing from the future, having traveled down an ancestral line and inhabiting a young girl's body.