While experimenting on an X-ray vision serum to expand human eyesight, Dr. James Xavier is told by his colleague, Dr. Diane Fairfax, that his funds from the research foundation will be cut unless he produces results. In desperation Xavier, with the reluctant assistance of Dr. Brant, decides to initiate the experiments on himself. The tests are successful, and soon Xavier is able to see through paper, materials, and even human tissue. When asked to help on a heart operation, Xavier is able to see that the diagnosis is wrong, and during the operation, he forcibly takes over to save the patient's life. The result is that he is dismissed and threatened with a malpractice suit. Meanwhile, his eyes have become so sensitive to light that he is forced to wear lead glasses and is subject to intense headaches. When Dr. Brant and Dr. Fairfax try to force him to stop administering the serum to his eyes, a struggle ensues, and Brant is accidentally killed. Xavier panics, flees the city, and finds refuge in a carnival where his strange power of eyesight is exploited by Crane, the owner; however, when Crane discovers Xavier's past, he threatens to expose him. Almost blind from the extreme vision and headaches, Xavier goes berserk and crashes his car; he stumbles into a revival meeting and, following the preacher's exhortation, plucks out his eyes.