Angel Gueller was put in a psych ward for talking too much, and thinking too much. When she is illegally released with her best friend Joey, they do their best to avoid the police and make it out of town, and into Canada.
Mildred Ratched has been head nurse at the Oregon State Hospital for years taking care of patients. When a new patient named Randall McMurphy is admitted to ward, she is challenged by his rebellious behavior.
Shell shock, what people nowadays refer to as PTSD. Clara Gutman, being a Holocaust survivor, has it. When a new patient arrives in Nurse Ratched's ward, the ward gets turned upside down.