Ever since his best friend, Andy, was in a car accident that left him in a coma, Charley Finch has been having nightmares in which he helps Andy escape the clutches of the demon, Zorl who is on a mission, it seems, to push Andy through the Door of Death.  Within these dreams, Charley and Andy are sometimes cartoon characters in wild animations, or merely boys in hazardous escapades evading Zorl on steep mountains, dark forests or hiding in a shadowy ancient castle.  After a month of these nightmares, Charley's family doctor refers him to a child psychiatrist, the towering dark, T. Arambaala.  After several sessions, Dr. Arambaala sends Charley to a sleep lab of a local university where it is decided that lucid dreaming may be the only way for Charley to take control of his  dreams and defeat Zorl.  After Dr. Sybil Galt, the Dream Witch, teaches Charley how to become a lucid dreamer, or an oneironaut, a relentless battle ensues between Charley and Zorl until, after several skirmishes, they meet for a final battle at the Door of Death.