Struggling New York city artist, Reno (Abel Ferrara), slowly goes insane while struggling to pay his bills, work on his paintings, and care for his two female roommates, Carol (Carolyn Marz) and Pamela (Baybi Day). After his masterpiece is rejected by an art dealer, his mental condition further deteriorates, this leads him to take to the streets of New York after dark, randomly killing derelicts with a power drill.