James Ballard

James Ballard is a young, married man who works creating commercials. Ballard is in an unhappy marriage in which both he and his wife have frequent affairs. The day Ballard ends his relationship with a secretary he is in a car crash that results in the death of another man. Ballard is mildly injured, but survives this accident. When released from the hospital, Ballard becomes aware of the millions of cars on the roads every day. He begins to believe that one day there will be a massive car accident, killing everyone.

After his accident, Ballard begins to have an affair with the wife of the man killed in his accident. This affair is loveless and seems to be a result of Ballard's sense of guilt for surviving the crash. Ballard's feelings are not resolved with this affair, however. When Ballard meets Vaughan, a man obsessed with...