The story is about a mental institution in the USA runned by Nurse Ratched. It starts when a new patient, Randall Patrick McMurphy, arrives at the ward. McMurphy comes from a work farm and because he was to lazy to wark he presumed insanity so he could go to the institution instead. Soon the staff find out that “Mac” is not an ordinary cuckoo, he complains about everything like the loud music and that they can’t watch the World Series. He also get the other nuts on his side, after a while they really look up to him. When the men make their weekly trip to the pool, McMurphy learns that he will only be released when Nurse Ratched and the doctors decide he is ready. At the next group meeting, Cheswick complains about the rationing of cigarettes, and he’s getting dragged away to the Disturbed Ward. When he returns, presumably after having shock treatment, Cheswick drowns when he gets his fingers stuck in the grate at the bottom of the pool. A few weeks later Mac learns about the 'shock shop,' where patients get electroshock therapy, and also learns about lobotomies. He confronts Harding and the other patients about why they didn't tell him that Nurse Ratched controls whether or not he leaves, but they claim that they forgot he was committed; with a few exceptions, all of them entered the hospital voluntary. McMurphy cannot believe that these men would choose to live in the hospital, but they tell him that they are too weak to leave. Nurse Ratched makes her next move against McMurphy by posting the patients' financial statements, which show that McMurphy has made a profit from the other patients since he arrived. She suggests in a meeting that McMurphy is trying to manipulate them. When the men confront McMurphy about this, he tells them that he always had been honest with them. When some of the black boys attack one of the patients, Mac defends him, and gets in a fight with them. Chief Bromden joins in when the black boys gang up on McMurphy, and both are taken away to the Disturbed Ward. McMurphy and Chief Bromden get a chance to apologize before administering shock treatment. McMurphy refuses. They administer shock treatment to him several times in one week, even though Chief Bromden tries to talk him into complying. He claims that the electroshock therapy energizes him. the other patients decide to engineer McMurphy's escape when Candy arrives on Saturday night for her meeting with Billy. They bribe Mr. Turkle, the night watchman, with liquor and an offer of sex with Candy, and the other patients have a party that night. McMurphy delays leaving until early into the morning, however, and falls asleep. There’s a very big difference between the book and the film: · In the book the story’s told from chief Bromden’s point of view and in the film the main character is Randle P. McMurphy (played by Jack Nicholson)