THE RESURRECTION OF ZACHARY WHEELER

Reporter Harry Walsh (Nielsen) witnesses an auto accident in which two people are killed. Recognizing the survivor as Senator Clayton Zachary Wheeler (Dillman), he rides with him in the ambulance.

After he reports Wheeler's accident from the hospital, the staff tell him there is no such person admitted. Walsh's editor orders him to retract his story, which he refuses to do, at the cost of his job. Some detective work leads him to Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Meanwhile, Wheeler wakes up in a secret hospital run by Dr. Redding (Daly) and Dr. Layle Johnson (Dickinson). He finds out he is the recipient of an incredible transplant, utilizing organs harvested from "somas". These somas are bodies artificially grown from his own DNA.

Walsh has to elude two less-than-brilliant agents on his way to Alamogordo, finally escaping them, traveling with some migrant workers. Wheeler learns that the "fee" for his surgery is to do whatever he can do as Senator, for the Committee—a form of medical blackmail. Fielding (Wilke), the Committee chairman, refers to it as "a new type of money." Wheeler refuses to cooperate and threatens to turn the whole operation in. Fielding warns him he will never win a presidential nomination if news of his heart transplant gets out.

In Alamogordo, Walsh deduces that Wheeler's plane must have gone to Los Alamos, site of the old Manhattan Project. With the help of a newspaper buddy, he lands at the base and discovers an extra soma of Wheeler. Thinking it to be the senator, he breaks it out and commandeers Dr. Johnson's car.

The car crashes as Walsh maneuvers to avoid colliding with several individuals meandering around. Johnson sustains injuries, prompting Fielding to exploit the situation in an attempt to sway Wheeler's stance, threatening to withhold assistance. Despite Wheeler's growing attachment to her, his determination wavers, although Redding assures him that her injuries are minor.

Walsh and Wheeler finally meet, and agree to expose the Committee together, even as Fielding and Redding discuss a new "client" they have been hoping for.

Walsh and Wheeler finally meet and agree to expose the Committee behind the cloning and blackmail scheme, even as the conspirators prepare for their next client.

The ending unites the reporter and the senator in their resolve to bring the secret operation to light, suggesting a cautious optimism amidst ongoing dangers. The Committee remains at large, hinting at the persistence of institutional corruption and the ongoing risks of unchecked scientific power.