Abe, Jordan Gelber, a man in his thirties who still lives at home with his parents, becomes entangled with Miranda, Selma Blair, who has just moved back home after a failed literary/academic career and a divorce. While waiting outside Miranda's house for their first date, Marie, Mia Farrow, his secretary, runs up and tells him to give up on pursuing the girl as he has no shot, but then he wakes with a start revealing it was a dream.
Throughout the film, Marie keeps popping up in unexpected places, almost like reminders or warnings. She appears in the parking lot outside a bar where he has just hit Mahmoud, Christopher Walken; in Abe's bedroom as he parades through a quick study of his health and hepatitis; and on a street corner after an argument with his mother and brother, each appearance pulling him away from or toward Miranda. These encounters blur the line between reality and fantasy, turning Abe's quest for connection into a toxic, dreamlike pursuit that colors everything he does.
As the relationship unfolds, Miranda discloses she has hepatitis B, raising concerns that Abe may have already put himself at risk (since he used her toothbrush). He and Miranda eventually reconnect and Clara-faced moments occur at a bar where she is still connected to Mahmoud, who is on friendly terms with her. A growing suspicion takes root in Abe that Mahmoud is the source of the infection, and a confrontation escalates into violence when Abe beats Mahmoud, breaking his jaw. He fears he has ruined his chances with Miranda, yet she reaches out, calling him back into her life. Their fragile bond endures even as Abe faces familial rejection: his father fires him and replaces him with his cousin Justin, and his mother reveals they had long ago decided Abe was a failure.
The film shifts toward a desperate, almost cyclical motion. Abe races through the rain to the toy store where, at the start of the film, he had tried to return a damaged toy but was told the toy was open and the manager was out to lunch. This time the clerk refuses again, and the store manager arrives—revealed to be Mahmoud, now with a severe jaw injury and neck brace. Mahmoud delivers a pointed speech about Abe’s self-perceived status as a loser and about Miranda’s true feelings, ending with a sobering metaphor: life gives everyone a receipt that can be cut off mid-sentence.
The story cuts to Abe in the hospital, surrounded by family. He wakes to learn he has been in a coma for two months after being hit by a car in the office parking lot. Miranda is by his side and confesses that she did not know him and wasn’t initially attracted to him, but she says she cares—without clarifying what that care means. She denies being pregnant, despite Abe’s mother’s belief, and Abe flatlines again. He recovers only to develop hepatitis and jaundice. He shares a forceful, kiss with Marie, thereby contaminating her, and once more flatlines.
Returning to his parents’ house, Abe discovers the hollowed wall behind which lies his childhood height chart, labeled with his name as “Abe, Dad’s ‘Dark Horse.’” The moment of revelation culminates in a scene at a headstone where his family gathers with Marie, a young workmate, and Miranda, who is seen holding a baby and standing with Richard’s arm around her. Richard notes the death date is wrong, but Abe’s father asks him not to tell Richard’s mother. Marie then shares a quiet, candlelit dance with Abe to a saxophone rendition of “When I Fall in Love,” and the scene abruptly shifts to a final image of Marie at work, her face lost in a daydream as the narrative’s source remains uncertain and open to interpretation.
