Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne), a word processor, meets Marcy Franklin (Rosanna Arquette) in a local cafe in New York. They discuss their common interest in Henry Miller. Marcy leaves Paul her number and informs him that she lives with a sculptor named Kiki Bridges (Linda Fiorentino), who makes and sells plaster of Paris paperweights resembling cream cheese bagels. Later in the night, under the pretense of buying a paperweight, Paul visits Marcy, taking a cab to her apartment. On his way to visit Marcy, a $20 bill is blown out the window of the cab, leaving him with only some spare pocket change. The cab driver is furious that he cannot pay. This is the first in a long series of misadventures for Paul that turn hostile through no fault of his own. At the apartment Paul meets the sculptor Kiki and Marcy, and comes across a collection of photographs and medications which imply that Marcy is severely disfigured from burns on her legs and torso. As a result of this implication, and as a result of a strained conversation with Marcy, Paul abruptly slips out of the apartment.Paul then attempts to go home by subway, but the fare has increased at the stroke of midnight and he finds that his pocket change is no longer sufficient to purchase a token. He goes to a bar where Julie (Teri Garr), a waitress, becomes enamored with him. At the bar, Paul learns that there have been a string of burglaries in the neighborhood. The bar's owner, Tom Schorr (John Heard), offers to give Paul money to cover the subway fare, but cannot open the cash register. They exchange keys so Paul can go to Tom's place to fetch the cash register keys. On the way back from Tom's apartment, Paul is questioned by suspicious neighbors. Afterwards, Paul spots two actual burglars, Neil (Cheech Marin) and Pepe (Tommy Chong), with one of Kiki's sculptures. After he attempts to confront them, they flee, dropping the sculpture in the process. When Paul returns the sculpture to Kiki and Marcy's apartment, he finds Marcy has committed suicide. Kiki and a stout man named Horst have already left to go to Club Berlin, a nightclub.Paul attempts to return to Tom's bar, but it is locked up, with a sign indicating that Tom will be back in half an hour. Paul meets Julie, the waitress, in the street, who invites him up to her apartment to wait for Tom to reopen the bar. Julie is enamored with Paul, but Paul goes back to Tom's bar, finding Tom grieving over Marcy, who was his girlfriend. Paul returns to Julie's apartment where she begins to sketch his portrait while they talk. Ultimately, Paul rejects Julie's advances and leaves. He goes to Club Berlin to find Kiki and Horst, where a collection of punks attempt to shave his head into a Mohawk hairstyle. On the street, Paul is mistaken for a burglar and is relentlessly pursued by a mob of local residents.Paul finds Tom again, but the mob (with the assistance of Julie, Gail, and Gail's Mister Softee truck) chases Paul. Paul discovers that as payback for rejecting her, Julie used his image in a wanted poster which names him as the burglar. He ultimately seeks refuge back at the Club Berlin. Paul uses his last quarter to play "Is That All There Is?" by Peggy Lee and asks a woman named June to dance. Paul explains he's being pursued and June, also a sculptress, offers to help him. She protects him by pouring plaster on him in order to disguise him as a sculpture. However, she won't let him out of the plaster, which eventually hardens, trapping Paul in a position that resembles the character depicted in Edvard Munch's painting The Scream. The burglar duo then breaks into the Club Berlin and steals him, placing him in the back of their van. He falls from the burglar's cargo right outside the gate to his office as the sun is rising. Paul brushes himself off and goes to work, bringing the film full circle.
Output: Question: Who is Paul mistaken for?, Answer: A burglar