Dr. Daniel Pierce is a brilliant, eccentric neuroscience professor with a deep knowledge of human behavior and of the way the brain processes information. He's also a paranoid schizophrenic who struggles with hallucinations. But Daniel considers his condition a gift, the way the hallucinations sometimes allow him to see patterns and make connections that his mind has otherwise not yet formed. With that gift, Daniel helps his former student, FBI agent Kate Moretti, as a consultant on certain cases. He's happiest when given an intricate puzzle to solve or a message to decode, and for that Kate is more than willing to look past his disease. Helping keep Daniel on task is his teaching assistant and roommate, Max Lewicki, who provides for Daniel's domestic demands, and Natalie Vincent, Daniel's best friend, one-time romantic partner and definite intellectual equal.