《毒醉心迷》的片名“Better Living Through Chemistry”系越战年代美国著名反战勇士、嬉皮士运动代表人物阿比·霍夫曼（Abbie Hoffman）的名言，直译为“毒品让生活更美好”。 片中的男主人公是一位普通的药剂师，过着糟糕的婚姻生活，直到有一天一位神秘性感的少妇顾客登门拜访，药剂师很快坠入这名神秘少妇的温柔乡，纵情于毒品与两性欢愉，并利用自己的职业同少妇一起精心策划了一场针对其丈夫的谋杀。
Despite liking and being good in his profession as a pharmacist, Doug Varney has an unsatisfying life. He has long worked at Bishop's, the only pharmacy in the small town of Woodbury. The pharmacy is owned by his controlling father-in-law Walter Bishop. Even when Doug "inherits" the pharmacy, Walter makes it clear that he is still the figurehead by not letting Doug change the name to Varney's. With Walter still as that figurehead, the staff at the pharmacy run roughshod over Doug. Doug's wife Kara is equally as controlling. She is an ultra-competitive competitive road cyclist, she having won not only the women's division but overall the Tour de Woodbury six years running. She takes control of the household, including all the decisions concerning the raising of their now twelve year old son, Ethan. Her permissiveness in those decisions has resulted in Ethan acting out, which she in turn attributes to Doug not manning-up in being a suitable role model for Ethan. Things in Doug's life have the potential to change when he meets beautiful Elizabeth Roberts, new to Woodbury and to Bishop's. Elizabeth is in an equally unsatisfying marriage to her older husband, Jack Roberts. She believes he sees her only as a trophy wife, who he will probably dump when she gets to be too old. Despite not being a match on the surface, Doug and Elizabeth bond over their mutually unhappy lives. They begin an affair, with Elizabeth showing him how to make his life more fulfilling, including using his access to and knowledge of drugs for their own personal benefit. With Doug becoming a new man, he has to decide if he will take it to the next logical step by making him and Elizabeth a permanent thing, which if they have any chance for a comfortable life means killing Jack so that they can live off of his money. In addition to other things going on because of these changes, two items that may factor into Doug's decision are the fact that DEA agent Andrew Carp is doing a routine inspection of the pharmacy due to the fact that it has changed hands, and when Doug eventually meets Jack in the flesh...
