The film begins with Adam Beckett, a pianist who finds himself unwillingly performing Chopin at Carnegie Hall. When the audience calls for an encore, he inadvertently reveals that he’s not playing live but instead using a player piano, inciting the crowd's outrage as they storm the stage, wrapping him in the piano rolls.
Suddenly, Adam finds himself waking up on a train in Europe, quickly realizing that his previous experience was merely a nightmare. Here, he encounters a Swedish architect who prompts Adam to share his frustrations about his thwarted aspirations of becoming an artist. Encouraged, Adam makes the decision to return to America and chase his dreams. However, upon his arrival, he discovers that the Port Authority has gained control over New York City, imposing restrictions on entry.
After failing a drawing assessment at the Port Authority, Adam is resigned to a mundane job under a volatile boss, where he must monitor traffic at the Holland Tunnel, preventing vehicles with defects, such as broken headlights, from entering. Feeling stifled under his aunt and uncle's roof, Adam opts to stay in a hotel. He is assigned a room previously occupied by a resident who vanished mysteriously, leaving behind an array of belongings, including intriguing paintings.
At work, Adam crosses paths with Mara, a fellow aspiring artist. He joins her as she explores the vibrant art scene in SoHo, where she introduces him to various artistic expressions to help him find his passion.
In a twist of fate, Adam’s compassion toward a homeless man leads him into an underground society, where he undergoes a metaphorical cleansing by fire. Here, the city’s tramps inform him that they hold sway over the fate of cities globally and that he must embark on a mission to the Moon.
Upon resurfacing, Adam rushes to Mara’s place, but her indifference leaves him heartbroken. He boards a bus headed for the Moon, a trip filled with peculiar levels dedicated to dancing and dining. Being the youngest traveler, he learns from an elderly woman that they all have chips implanted in their necks, causing them to misinterpret their destination as “Miami” instead of the Moon.
When they finally arrive, they are welcomed by the enchanting Moon Maidens and Eloy, who is meant to be Adam's destined love. Eloy warns him that it's too perilous to converse, after which Adam leaps onto a shuttle en route to shopping at Moon-o-Rama. Eloy rescues him with a buggy, whisking him away from the bustling Consumerzone.
Finally, Adam awakens in an alley and is urged to rush to his concert at Carnegie Hall. He delivers a stunning performance of Chopin's polonaise no. 53, earning a standing ovation. In that moment, he locks eyes with Eloy, who cheers him on from a box.
