In the heart of New York City, a troubled young artist named Reno Miller finds himself navigating the gritty streets and his turbulent emotions. It all begins when Reno enters a small Catholic church located in Spanish Harlem. There, he encounters an elderly man, a bearded figure who continually mutters, “pity the sinners.” To Reno's shock, he recognizes this man as his long-lost father, now reduced to a derelict. The old man reaches out to Reno, but overwhelmed by his feelings, Reno flees and tells his girlfriend Carol about the incident, branding the man a "degenerate" and a "bum."
As Reno's day continues, he and Carol pick up their roommate Pamela from a bar where she's lost in the world of punk rock. The trio lives in a rundown apartment in Union Square, struggling to make ends meet. Tensions rise when Reno rants about unpaid bills, culminating in an impulsive act of throwing the phone out of a window. Later, plagued by dreams of his father’s haunting figure and the sound of a power drill, Reno grows increasingly frustrated with the presence of homeless people around him.
Desperate for cash and with nowhere to turn, Reno approaches Dalton, a flamboyant art gallery owner, in hopes of securing a loan for his rent. Dalton, however, refuses, stating he's already helped Reno too many times. Determined to keep his living situation afloat, Carol fabricates a story and writes a check to their landlord, but they still find themselves behind on rent.
Their situation worsens as the noise from Tony Coca-Cola and his punk band disrupts Reno’s attempts to create his much-anticipated painting of a buffalo. A short-lived moment of quiet leads Reno to a bizarre encounter with a homeless man, and in a moment of unhinged contemplation, he resolves not to become like his father. The pressure continues to mount when Carol receives a letter and cash from her ex-husband, prompting further tension between her and Reno.
As nights blend into chaos, Reno’s serene aspirations spiral into madness. One fateful night, haunted by demon images and a mounting obsession, he ventures out with a power drill in hand, claiming the lives of several homeless individuals in a frenzied spree. His descent into psychosis heightens when Tony, querying Reno's sanity, unwittingly becomes part of his art obsession.
After a failed attempt at having his work validated by Dalton, despair and rage take hold of Reno. His relationships begin to crumble—promptly leading to betrayal and bloodshed. Eventually, he invites Dalton under false pretenses, where the artist's insanity culminates in a horrific act of violence.
In this turbulent narrative, Reno's psyche disintegrates as he sinks into deeper despair, culminating in a shocking conclusion with Carol unwittingly falling into a trap set by Reno, leaving her fate bleak and uncertain. Surrounded by betrayal, madness, and the consequences of past decisions, the story explores the dark underbelly of urban life and the fragility of human relationships.
