The movie is about a kid named Izzy who lives in the New York City neighborhood of Washington Heights. His family faces a crisis after his father, Paul, suffers from a stroke. His mother, Sue, is an English teacher whose salary is only enough to pay the rent for their apartment. Izzy is trying to find ways to escape his problems by breaking into people's apartments. Izzy does not steal things from houses, instead he eats food, moves around the furniture, writes words on walls, takes showers, and burn pieces of paper. Izzy hangs out with a group of kids who are hoodlums. When Paul's medical insurance is running out, Sue decides to bring Paul back home and take care of him by herself. When Izzy tries again to break in, he gets caught when the homeowners are at home having sexual intercourse. Izzy is subsequently taken to the local police station.
