- A fatigued man fights to stay awake as he explains to a psychiatrist that if he falls asleep it will trigger a nightmare, which will cause his heart to fail.
- Edward Hall visits a psychiatrist - Dr Rathmann, who was recommended by his doctor. Mr Hall tells the doctor he's very tired - since he's purposefully not slept for almost a week. Edward thinks if he sleeps, he'll die. He's been dreaming in "chapters", with 2 characters; himself, and a woman named Maya, the Cat Woman, and she's told him she'll kill him in his next nightmare.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Edward Hall seeks the help of a psychiatrist, Dr. Rathman. He tells the doctor he hasn't slept for days, and has been taking pills to stay awake, because he has a fear that if he does go sleep, he'll die. He's been having a series of dreams where each on's part of a long story - like chapters in a book. The main character in his dream other than himself is a beautiful young woman, named Maya. He's now reached the point of the story where he believes Maya will kill him and so he's terrified to fall asleep.—garykmcd
- Opening narration:
"Twelve o'clock noon. An ordinary scene, an ordinary city. Lunchtime for thousands of ordinary people. To most of them, this hour will be a rest, a pleasant break in the day's routine. To most, but not all. To Edward Hall, time is an enemy, and the hour to come is a matter of life and death."
Hall (Richard Conte), a man with a cardiac condition, has sought out the aid of Dr. Rathmann (John Larch), a psychiatrist. He explains that he's been dreaming in chapters, as if in a movie serial. In his dream, Maya (Suzanne Lloyd), a carnival dancer, lures him into a funhouse and onto a roller coaster with the express intention of scaring him to death. If he goes to sleep, he knows he'll return to the dream and will have a fatal heart attack. On the other hand, if he stays awake much longer, the strain will be too much for his heart. Realizing that Rathmann can't help him, he starts to go, but stops when he realizes that the doctor's receptionist is a dead ringer for the girl in his dream. Terrified, he runs back into Rathmann's office and jumps out the window to his death. The doctor calls the receptionist into his office--where Hall lies on the couch, his eyes closed. Rathmann tells the receptionist that Hall came in, lay down, immediately fell asleep--and then a few moments later, let out a scream and died.
Closing narration:
"They say a dream only takes a second or so, and yet in that second a man can live a lifetime. He can suffer and die, and who's to say which is the greater reality: the one we know or the one in dreams, between heaven, the sky, the earth...in the Twilight Zone."
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