On a USO tour during World War II, entertainer Eddie Sparks needs a partner to round out his act. Soon after hiring performer Dixie Leonard, Eddie decides he wants her out of the show — mostly because she upstages him. Dixie is close to leaving of her own accord, but her uncle, Art Silver, convinces her to stay. As the years and wars go by, Eddie and Dixie experience a tumultuous relationship onstage and off while they continue the act for the troops.

An artist slowly goes insane while struggling to pay his bills, work on his paintings, and care for his two female roommates, which leads him taking to the streets of New York after dark and randomly killing derelicts with a power drill.