Noticing Marie's devastation after her boyfriend, Paul, dumps her, call boy Theo tries to help, and their friendship soon grows deeper, touching a part of Theo he's frozen in order to service his male clients. When Paul returns, however, his presence threatens this fragile new union.

A trio takes shelter in a friend's apartment while he is away for awhile. One of the trio is Lola who teaches French on the side, maintains an out-of-sight hairstyle, and has a 10-year-old son. Another of the trio is a homosexual who supports himself by playing his flute on the street or reading to elderly women. The last friend in the group is Max, whose parents are sending him steady installments of cash to pay for non-existent studies; it seems Max is a writer waiting for inspiration to hit. In the meantime, he and Lola are an item.

In New York City, detective Luigi Mackeroni investigates a string of mysterious penile mutilations at the Hotel Quickie. After Mackeroni attempts to have a tryst with a gigolo he meets in the lobby, a carniverous condom bites off his right testicle and flees, which sets the detective off on a quest to stop the predatory prophylactic once and for all.

In Berlin, young people search for purpose, happiness, and love on extensive nightly forays. They often get in their own way, masking their disorientation with busyness and self-deception in everyday life.