Alex, a 10-year-old child, develops an unhealthy obsession with morbid imagery, which marks him asocial. Unable to befriend his peers, he creates an imaginary friend and role model, whom he names Astronaut Captain Harry. Upon the birth of his twin baby brothers, Alex feels more neglected than usual. He emotionally extorts his father into buying him a TV for his room, and starts spending hours watching violent programmes. As his antisocial behavior deepens, he also takes on a new imaginary friend, Sergeant John Cluster who will teach him how to realize his new dream of being a great soldier.