Timothy Leary is a Harvard University professor who is fired for his out-of-control drug experiments. Leary becomes a media personality, and later a close friend and collaborator of Wilson. In the beginning of their friendship, Leary is sponsored at Millbrook, a comfortable upstate New York estate. Soon, Leary is arrested for drug trafficking and spends many years in jail. At one point, Leary escapes and is a guest of a leading Black Panther in Algeria. Leary is caught on an American plane flying to Afghanistan. Despite his long incarceration, Leary continues to advocate his favorite causes. These switch from research with mind-altering drugs, to space travel and migration, and contact with extraterrestrial beings. In the process, Leary is finally released from prison, and becomes a close collaborator of Wilson.