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It's September 1953 in Washington, D.C.

Winfred Overholzer walks down a long hallway in St. Elizabeth's asylum. His leather shoes tap against the concrete floor, and often the distance he can hear patients shouting and pounding on the walls.

Overholzer turns a corner.

When suddenly, there's a loud shrieking noise. He looks up. A patient is standing at his doorway. His hair is dishevelled and his eyes are wild with rage. The patient snarls and then disappears from view.

The patient snarls and then disappears from view.

Overholzer shakes his head. He knows that to most people working in this asylum would be a nightmare, but he's grown used to it. Overholzer is the superintendent of St. Elizabeth's, and he spent years helping the mentally ill.

These days, Overholzer doesn't spend as much time working directly with patients, but that could soon change.

Overholzer is the superintendent of St. Elizabeth's, and he spent years helping the mentally ill.

Overholzer doesn't spend as much time working directly with patients, but that could soon change. Overholzer recently discovered a new promising treatment.

It's a drug that could change lives, and now he's going to meet with a long-time patient named Janice, and hopefully he'll convince her to try this new miracle drug.

Overholzer steps into a small room where he finds the patient Janice sitting up in bed. She's an older woman with gray hair, clutching a set of rosary beads.

Janice suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, and so Overholzer starts by giving her a warm and friendly smile.

Good morning Janice. You look nice. Hi. How are we today? Who are you? What are you doing here? All who am I? Come on, you know me. I'm Dr. Overholzer, superintendent.

I don't know. You don't know? Well, who else would I be? The devil takes strange forms. The devil. Well, how about this? I know your favorite dessert is pistachio ice cream. Would the devil know that? Yes, he might.

Oh, okay, but would the devil do this? Overholzer reaches out and touches the cross on the rosary, and slowly Janice begins to relax.

No, the devil wouldn't do that. No, he wouldn't. Like I said, I'm Dr. Overholzer. You sound distressed. That's actually why I'm here. I have something I want to share with you.

It's an incredible new drug called chlorpromazine. It's helping a lot of people, and I think you should try it.

Janice shakes her head. No, I don't want drugs. And why not Janice? Because they turn you into a zombie. Oh Janice, you're thinking of the old drugs, the barbitwits, and this drug, it's different.

No, no, no, no drugs. I heard there's something better than drugs.

Janice reaches under her mattress and pulls out a crumpled magazine. It's an old Saturday evening post, and has an article about Walter Freeman and his campaign to perform lobotomies.

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