In this science fiction novel (with some elements of detective fiction), Dick imagines a near future in which the U.S. government has lost the battle against drugs. The situation is already horrifying: a rotten society addicted to the deadly Substance D, an instantly addictive drug that eventually drives its users psychotic and proves fatal in the medium term. A narcotics agent disguises himself as an addict (in fact, he already is one) in order to track down the person most responsible for its manufacture and distribution. We witness his struggle between overcoming within himself the effects of Substance D (he begins to lose contact with reality, perceiving multiple realities simultaneously) and pursuing the guilty parties by any means necessary.
For a moral evaluation, it should be kept in mind that, in this novel, as in all the author’s other works, there is an underlying thread of paranoia and dissociation, and that it is constructed in search of a cathartic effect on readers, who, when confronted with the spectacle, are expected to reject the reality being portrayed. The base passions of the characters give rise to immoral relationships, which are mentioned without description.