Step into a digital abyss where every thumb-swipe sucks you deeper into a carnivalesque oubliette. In the humid purgatory of Southernesse, Carolina, municipal analyst Dwayne Ferris is heartbroken and dissociated. When he attempts to “optimize” his life with a discount brain-hacking machine, he unwittingly triggers a descent into radical extremism, fixating on the destruction of Hinge’s CEO and the “Cop City” training center.

As Dwayne unravels, his obsession entangles an ensemble of characters navigating their own modern derangements: Heather, a sun-staring revolutionary poet and creator of “The Boyfriend Blockchain;” Tammy, a cigarette-ripping geriatric janitor/mechanic evading a dark past; Suraj, a convenience-store clerk grappling with grief and frayed faith; Johntay, a call-center worker with a consequential sidehustle; Connor, inventor and former Assistant Manager of Arby’s, trying to save young men one PornHub tab at a time; Stephanie, an Adderall-fueled artist building the world’s first 24-room tarot installation; and Jimmy, a suicidal punk rocker who hangs around longer than expected.

From tranquil forests to supermax cells to blood-stained sidewalks, A Hideous Ecstasy traverses the landscapes and screenscapes of a fractured society. It depicts a world where everything is play and amusement—right up until a liquescent, gore-lacquered reality crawls out from beneath your Toyota Camry and knocks on your door.