21-year old Alan Parker is a brooding sort of young man, an artist who tends to have a dark view of the world. After his girlfriend Jessica breaks up with him and he makes an abortive-and possibly accidental-suicide attempt, he is informed that his mother, Jean, has had a stroke, and he gives up a John Lennon concert to rush to her side. A series of bizarre and creepy rides culminates in Alan being picked up by George Staub, who has come back from the dead to give Alan a horrible choice and a new perspective on life.