In this downbeat drama based on Jay McInerney's autobiographical novel, New York City yuppie and aspiring writer Jamie Conway (Michael J. Fox) seeks oblivion in cocaine and the glittery nightclub scene as his life falls apart. With his hard-partying friend Tad Allagash (Kiefer Sutherland) continuing to up the ante, Jamie finds it increasingly difficult to show up at his unfulfilling job as a fact-checker for a literary Manhattan magazine.