In the 60s, Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson struggles with emerging psychosis as he attempts to craft his avant-garde pop masterpiece. In the 80s, he's a broken, confused man under the 24-hour watch of shady therapist, Dr. Eugene Landy.
A serial killer of prostitutes based Kansas City taunts the police by calling several times to give them the locations of women he's killed. The police have to do a lot of old fashion detective work with lack of physical evidence over a period of 10 to 12 days.