It's 1974 and Dr. Dorothy Morrissey becomes the first female psychologist at St. Lawrence Asylum in Lansing, Michigan.

Dorothy's patients mirror her emotional issues as they draw her into their often-chaotic lives. Thomas Perfect's impulsiveness and attention-seeking behavior-both symptoms of his bipolar disorder-often prove dangerous as a gay man in 1970s Lansing, Michigan. His flair for drama makes Dorothy laugh as much as his trauma makes her want to cry. Dorothy wrestles with an inexplicable aversion to George who had been remanded to St. Lawrence after pleading Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity. Ruth's post-partum psychiatric break threatens to draw Dorothy in with her, and Marcella, labeled as borderline frustrates Dorothy's efforts to keep her from self-harm.

As good as Dorothy is at holding and interpreting her patients' past traumas, she resists looking at her own, causing a strain on her relationship with Kenneth. It seems Dorothy has no problem saving her patients... but can she save herself?