In 1930s Los Angeles, Hollywood shines like a beacon to all the helpless people scattered across the city. In one crumbling apartment block, a blond bombshell (Karen Black) aspires to be an actress, an artist (William Atherton) looks for legitimacy, and a child actor performs a gross homage to Mae West. Cockfights and poverty prevail out of the glow of show business. Introverted accountant Homer Simpson (Donald Sutherland) watches as society collapses under greed and ambition.