Bringing Out the Dead

In the concrete jungle of Manhattan, paramedic Frank Pierce (played by) struggles with the weight of his own demons - depression, insomnia, and occupational burnout - which have left him feeling emotionally drained after months of failed resuscitations. His mental state has become so fragile that he begins to see the ghostly apparition of Rose, a homeless teenager whose life he was unable to save due to his own ineptitude. As Frank navigates the city's chaotic streets alongside his partner Larry, they receive a distress call from the family of Mr. Burke, who is on the brink of cardiac arrest. It is here that Frank forges an unlikely bond with Mary, Burke's distraught daughter and former junkie, and discovers her connection to Noel, a troubled young man with a penchant for drug use.

Frank and Larry respond to a string of minor calls, but their routine is disrupted when they arrive at the aftermath of a shooting. Amidst the chaos, Frank notices two vials of deadly "Red Death" heroin roll out from the sleeve of a surviving victim, who dies in the back of the ambulance while attempting to make amends for his involvement in the drug trade.

The next day, Frank is paired with Marcus, a charismatic and fervently religious paramedic. The unlikely duo responds to a call reporting a man in cardiac arrest at a local club. Upon arrival, Frank diagnoses the man's overdose as a result of Red Death and injects him with Narcan. As the man regains consciousness, Marcus begins an impromptu prayer circle amidst the stunned club-goers.

As the day wears on, Frank visits Mary's apartment to offer his condolences on her father's improving condition. Later, Frank and Marcus rush to the aid of a young couple whose girlfriend is giving birth to twins. As they whisk the newborns and their mother to the hospital, Marcus brings the healthy twin and the mother to the maternity ward, while Frank attempts to revive the smaller twin with the medical staff. The hospital's inability to save the tiny tot leaves Frank reeling in despair.

In a moment of catharsis, Frank turns to drink before sharing his sorrows with Marcus, who joins him and, in a fit of reckless abandon, crashes the ambulance into a parked car. Miraculously, they emerge unscathed, their laughter a testament to the enduring power of human resilience.

As the morning dawns, Frank's keen eye catches Mary slipping out of the hospital, prompting him to trail her to an apartment complex. With curiosity piqued, he accompanies her to a room, waiting patiently before bursting in to reveal a drug den overseen by Cy Coates. Mary confesses that she has relapsed into substance abuse as a coping mechanism for her father's precarious condition, and Frank's concern prompts him to try and coax her away from the toxic environment. However, Cy offers him a pill, and in a moment of desperation, Frank succumbs to the temptation, allowing himself to be enveloped by a haze of hallucinations featuring ghostly apparitions of his former patients.

As the veil of reality lifts, Frank seizes Mary and makes a hasty exit from the den. The hospital visit that follows finds him standing vigil beside Burke's comatose form, but it is not long before he begins to hear the deceased man's voice whispering in his ear, urging him to relinquish life support and allow his patient to slip away. Frank resists the temptation, choosing instead to revive Burke against the dying man's own wishes.

The dawn of a new day brings Frank face-to-face with Tom Wolls, a fervent individual driven by a messianic zeal and prone to violent outbursts. Together, they respond to a distress call at Cy's drug den, where chaos has erupted following a shooting incident. Amidst the mayhem, they find Cy impaled on a railing, clinging precariously as emergency services struggle to free him. Frank holds fast to the injured man as they are pulled back up to safety, and in a moment of gratitude, Cy thanks his savior for preserving his life, becoming the first patient Frank has saved in months.

In the aftermath, Frank finds himself drawn into Tom's world, agreeing to help his new partner deliver retribution upon Noel. As they give chase, Frank's grip on reality begins to slip once more, and he is forced to snap out of his hallucination just as Tom unleashes a brutal beating with a baseball bat. Frank intervenes, saving Noel from further harm.

In the days that follow, Frank visits Burke in the hospital, only to be met by the dying man's anguished pleas for release. This time, Frank chooses not to intervene, allowing his patient to succumb to his condition and slip into eternal rest. With the weight of this loss lifted, Frank makes his way to Mary's apartment, bearing news of Burke's passing. As he does so, a final glimpse of Rose's ghost appears before him, bestowing forgiveness as he had long sought. Accepting the reality of her father's death, Mary invites Frank in, and they find solace in each other's company as the darkness recedes and the light of hope begins to dawn.