An asbestos removal crew is tasked with clearing out the abandoned Danvers State Mental Hospital, a sprawling and decrepit hulk with a dark history. The team is under pressure to complete the job within one week as part of a risky contract to save the boss' failing business. As they set to work in the eerie, ghost-like corridors of the hospital, the crew's leader, Gordon Fleming, grapples with recent personal issues, and the stress of the job begins to weigh heavily on him. Meanwhile, Mike King, the resident law school dropout and historian of the group, discovers a collection of nine taped psychiatric sessions related to a former patient with multiple personalities, who may be linked to the building's macabre past.

The atmosphere of the hospital starts to take its toll on the men's psyches as they find themselves affected by the building's oppressive air and the gruesome discoveries within. Tensions escalate among the crew when Hank, a volatile party with a penchant for treasure hunting, stumbles upon a cache of old coins and subsequently goes missing, prompting suspicion and paranoia. As they delve deeper into the building and the cryptic tapes, strange occurrences and psychological unravelings fracture the team. Unseen forces seem to awaken, unraveling the sanity of the men as they confront not just the hazards of asbestos, but possibly something more sinister lurking in the asylum's shadows.