Peter Gibbons is an office drone like many others, and he hates his routine life. One day, the occupational therapist who was hypnotising him keels over dead, leaving him with a permanantly altered attitude. Asked to come in on weekends, he responds by coming in only when he wants to, playing games on his computer and moving furniture to give himself a better view. But instead of firing him, the company takes this oddness as evidence of his managerial potential.