Josh Cohen (Fred Savage), an idealistic 18 year old, leaves Ohio, enthusiastically driving to Hollywood to become an actor. En route, he has a sexual encounter with a beautiful hitchhiker who steals his car and all of his possessions. Ironically, he finds himself in a swarthy saloon just like they had in the movie version of the Wild West where he tries to recover his stuff and find the girl. In the process, he learns a valuable lesson: be careful what you wish for; it just might come true.