After getting kicked out of college, Arlo decides to visit his friend Alice for Thanksgiving dinner. After dinner is over, Arlo volunteers to take the trash to the dump but finds it closed for the holiday, so he dumps the trash in the bottom of a ravine. This act of littering gets him arrested and sends him on a bizarre journey.
A Jewish man and a Jewish woman meet, and while attracted to each other, find that their worlds are very different. She is the archetypal Jewish American Princess — very emotionally involved with her parents' world and the world they have created for her, while he is much less dependent on his family. They begin an affair which brings more differences to the surface.
When Miss Vicki's father dies, she becomes the world's greatest philanthropist. Unfortunately, she is flat broke! Her loyal butler, Claude Fitzwilliam, leads the household staff to rob from various businesses by charging goods to various wealthy people and misdirecting the shipments, all to keep Miss Vicki's standard of living.
