Dr. Jack Gallagher arrives for his new job as Director of Psychiatric Services at Los Angeles Wharton Memorial Hospital, and gains the trust of a delusional patient using a unique method. Meanwhile, this maverick psychiatrist must also earn the confidence from his new colleagues and conservative boss, hospital administrator Nora Skoff, who is also his ex-lover.
Jack faces off with Gideon Graham, a famous professor and philosopher who slipped into a responsive catatonic state following a lightning strike that killed his wife. To help Gideon, Jack tries an unusual treatment that may pose a risk to his patient. Meanwhile, Jack finds himself attracted to the patient's daughter.
An 8-year-old bipolar boy is admitted to Wharton Memorial following a dangerous incident with a knife. When Jack uncovers the accident was a suicide attempt, Jack tries to get inside the boy's head to learn what is causing his outbursts. Meanwhile, Nora learns her daughter is posting provocative pictures of herself on the Internet.
When movie star Liam McBride is checked into the psych ward, he insists he faked the psychotic episode in order to gain publicity for his upcoming movie. However, Jack believes Liam does in fact have a serious problem and refuses to release him. Meanwhile, Nora and Veronica have a girls' night out and share their romantic pasts with one another.
Jack attempts to talk down Leonard Steinberg, a gambling addict seriously in debt, threatens to jump off the roof of Wharton Memorial. Later, Jack heads to court in order to testify on behalf of a mentally incapable patient who is charged with manslaughter by a high-profile attorney who has never lost a case, Marcie Crane. Jack's expertise will be tested when the case turns out to be much more complicated than originally thought. Meanwhile, Jack and the team show up for a poker game after work, where sparks fly between Rylan and Veronica.
The murder of a drug dealer has Jack embroiled in a mystery when the only witness is the victim's autistic teenage daughter. The detectives struggle to get any useful information from the teen, but Jack uses unconventional methods to gather clues from her statement. Meanwhile, Arturo receives a visit from his father, who believes he can settle a real medical case since he plays a doctor on a soap opera.