Facing unemployment and his girlfriend's rejection, writer Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is convinced that he has no future. That all changes when an old friend gives him a drug that produces enhanced mental abilities. Stoked on the untested chemical, Eddie rises to the top of the financial world. He attracts the attention of a tycoon (Robert De Niro) who believes he can use Eddie to make a fortune, but terrible side-effects and a dwindling supply threaten to destroy Eddie's house of cards.