Cisco Pike is arrested for drug dealing and tries to pawn his guitar, but the shop owner refuses. He returns home to discover his demos have been rejected, so he records more tracks and tells his girlfriend, Sue, about his setback. With his phone buzzing from former customers still looking to buy drugs, the day unfolds into a tense mix of hustling and regret as Cisco blocks out the noise and focuses on his music.
Detective Leo Holland has stolen a large stash of high-grade marijuana from a Mexican gang and pays Cisco a visit, claiming that Cisco says he wants out of the drug business. The arrest follows, and Cisco is hauled to a garage where Holland shows him the seized marijuana. Cisco then consults his Lawyer, who notes the garage is tied to Holland through a contact named Betty Hall and urges Cisco to steer clear—though he also ponders the quality of the marijuana Cisco mentions. The tension between the two men grows as Cisco weighs his options and weighs the risk against the promise of money.
Holland tracks Cisco down again, delivering a harsh ultimatum: he needs US$10,000 within fifty-nine hours and, in exchange, Cisco can keep any excess cash and Holland will tweak the arrest file if the case goes to trial. Cisco accepts the pressure and begins breaking the marijuana into bricks, quickly moving to contact his former customers and push sales. When a bulk buyer notices a lone observer with binoculars and aborts the deal, Cisco confronts Holland, hands back the bricks, and vows not to work with him again. He retreats home to focus on his demos. Holland, angered, tracks Cisco and beats him, threatening to shoot unless the drug sales continue. Cisco yields for the moment, and Holland leaves.
Desperate to move product, Cisco visits his former competitor, Buffalo, offering a bulk deal of twenty-five kilograms (55 pounds) for a cut-rate price. Buffalo promises to pass the offer up his chain of associates. Cisco then seeks out his musician friend Rex, who is recording in a studio, but Rex rejects Cisco’s demos and questions the marijuana deal instead. Undeterred, Cisco meets Rex’s manager to discuss terms, but the deal falls through. He then hooks up with groupie Merna and leaves with her, picking up Lynn on the way to Lynn’s father’s mansion.
A charged sequence unfolds: after a brief encounter with the two women, Cisco continues selling while tensions with Sue grow. He visits Rex’s manager again, who finally agrees to Cisco’s price, promising payment in two days. Cisco becomes increasingly agitated as he smashes his office in a bid to pressure payment, and a quick bump from a different customer leads to a personal check rather than cash. A new buyer is located, but Cisco realizes the setup: the police are closing in. He and his customer escape and are saved by Sue. Frustrated by the slow contact from buyers and the dwindling funds, Cisco faces a bleak financial horizon.
Sue then finds Cisco’s former bandmate, Jesse Dupre, in a bath at their home, his drug addiction weighing heavily on him. Cisco warns Sue that he’s being blackmailed by a police officer, further complicating their fragile relationship.
The plot shifts toward Sunset Strip, where Cisco reunites with Merna and Lynn, and Merna introduces him to a major buyer who accepts Cisco’s price. A party at Merna’s house follows, where Jesse overdoses on heroin and dies, intensifying the film’s grim mood. Back at Cisco’s home, Holland illegally enters and camps out, while Sue escapes, leaving Holland inside.
Cisco transports Jesse’s body to his Venice home and discovers Sue sleeping in her van; she warns him about Holland, and Cisco discloses Jesse’s death. He leaves Jesse’s corpse on a bench and Sue calls 911 to report the body. Confronting Holland, Cisco learns that Sue plans to leave him, and she returns home with Cisco’s money as a last-ditch gesture. The emergency services arrive for Jesse’s body, prompting Holland to fear they’re chasing him and to open fire, fatally wounding himself in the process. Sue returns home, and Cisco drives away, the road ahead unclear but the immediate danger of his entangled drug world receding for the moment.
