Under the cover of secretarial work in a psychiatric unit, the protagonist records patients’ dreams in a logbook dedicated to Johnny Panic, believing themself a disciple to the omniscient master of fear and creator of all dreams. When the protagonist spends the night at the unit for unfettered access to patient records, the clinic director takes them away to a secure room for electroshock therapy.

Protagonist Rose McGworski is a young mother abandoned by her husband but with a passion for bingo and her young son. She glows with pride when the child psychologist informs her that her son must be sent to a school for slow learners, mistakenly believing he’s going there to teach.