Dr. Van Bentham, forensic psychologist, gives expert testimony in an asphyxiation death case in California. The man had "scarfed" himself in seeking an erotic high; or so it first appears. Frank Waters congratulates himself at having pulled it off, letting the victim kill himself, as he sees it, and to have won $7,000 from him. He motorcycles to Eugene, Oregon and there finds his true love, Sally. But Sally dies when a truck runs them down on his motorcycle. Frank survives, only losing a little finger, but is traumatized and taken up with thoughts of death. He interests a retired general in autoeroticism and contrives his death, again by scarfing, this time winning a large sum. Changing his persona, he becomes a new-age cult guru in Palm Springs and, by helping a homosexual priest scarf himself to death, makes off with a $2,000,000 chapel fund. Frank rides his motorcycle to Canada where he becomes a Canadian citizen due to having been born there. He learns of an amethyst mine where there may be gold. He goes to the desolate place, buys the rights, and strikes it rich. Meanwhile Dr. Bentham and his intuitive wife, Ava, along with a smart graduate student, Rob, and a colleague of Dr. Bentham at the FBI, have been working on the case. An upscale New York call girl discovers Frank's identity. He asphyxiates her. Realizing the net is closing around him, Frank flees to France. The three men, Van, Rob and Frank, all runners, participate in the Paris Marathon. Van recognizes Frank by his missing finger and a foot chase ensues. Surrounded and at bay, Frank asphyxiates himself.