Plot

A "straight" couple dabbles in drugs and become heroin addicts.

As a Los Angeles weekend begins on a Friday afternoon, a young girl, named Pam cooks breakfast for her boyfriend, Larry, after which they shoot up heroin.

That night, the band Blues Image plays at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go nightclub, while outside several drug deals take place surreptitiously. Beverly and Mitch, who call themselves Dusty and Sweets McGee, make enough money to support their heroin habit by selling drugs on the streets.

Another addict, named Clifton 'Tip' Fredell discusses what it is like to be a "common, ordinary dope fiend," stating that all day, every day, is about procuring or shooting heroin and the hunt for money to support the habit.

Billy Gray, known by his street name City Life, is a flashy dealer who does not do drugs. He is seen purchasing a top-of-the-line car stereo system in the hopes of attracting more women.

At Pink's Hot Dog stand, Larry and Pam buy hot dogs, appearing to the policemen behind them in line as a normal young teenage couple.

Meanwhile, a concert violinist has his Mercedes detailed, while in Hollywood, a bisexual hustler, named Kit Ryder, explains that he originally became a prostitute to finance his heroin addiction but now is clean. He hopes to build up a loyal clientele and move off the streets, but states that he is acquainting himself "with life in its most fundamental aspects-dependence and freedom."

That night, the violinist purchases a large amount of heroin from some businessmen, paying $40,000 in cash.

Mitch and Beverly sell some dope and shoot up the rest, then argue in their San Fernando Valley hotel room. Beverly wants Mitch to get his life together, but he blames her for nagging him, and finally she embraces him and agrees to postpone the conversation.

At the same time, Nancy, another addict, sits on a bare mattress in an empty room discussing her several overdoses. After one, she was arrested and while detoxing in jail realized that she had been using $400 worth of drugs each day.

On Saturday morning, Tip and a friend enter a convenience store, where Tip creates a diversion so his friend can steal food without attracting attention.

As City Life and his young sidekick, Armen, recount rambling stories, in a laundromat bathroom Tip and his friend begin the laborious process of shooting up. After Tip injects himself in his ankle, he accidentally flushes the needle down the sink, prompting his friend to grow anxious and angry.

In one part of town, Mitch sells heroin to Larry and Pam while in another the violinist picks up the hustler Kit. Larry and Pam argue in their home, with Larry alternately adoring and angry with Pam because he wants to kick his habit but cannot. Immediately afterward, they shoot up, Larry injecting Pam in her thigh and later into her mouth.

As Saturday night begins, Mitch and Beverly do the same in their hotel, fighting over who can shoot up first, and who uses more dope.

The next day, Tip recounts his many stints in the city jail and how he has been repeatedly beaten by policemen.

Meanwhile, City Life woos a new girl friend, while Mitch and Beverly relax in a park, laughing about the time she overdosed, and dreaming of having enough heroin to sell and live off the profits. They buy some drugs from City Life, then sell it to Nancy on the Venice Beach boardwalk.

At a park later, as City Life and his sidekick talk about the recent laws that invade privacy, Mitch and Beverly sell more drugs and the hustler recalls his inability to build a relationship.

After an aimless Sunday night, Larry and Pam shoot up joylessly, while Tip and his friend follow the violinist, who is driving through Beverly Hills. The violinist meets two men by the side of the road to buy dope, and after the men drive off, Tip and his friend pull up, shoot the violinist dead and steal the drugs.

At the same time, the police chase down Mitch and Beverly and arrest them roughly.

In the final scene, Pam revives from her drug stupor to find Larry dead from an overdose. Begging him to awaken, she weeps over his dead body.

The film closes with a series of texts saying:

"Clifton 'Tip' Fredell was arrested and returned to Calif. State Penitentiary on Oct. 17, 1970"

"Dusty and Sweets didn't make it, she's in Oregon, he's in L.A."

"Nancy Wheeler is on Methadone at a detox clinic in Flint, Mich. The program was disbanded and she is back on the street".