48 hours before New Year's Eve 1999, street hustler Lenny Nero is selling illegal virtual reality discs in a Los Angeles that resembles a nightmare where the future world of Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971) merges with the neon-lit New York decadence of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976). He is deeply loved by his girlfriend, limo driver Mace, but is obsessed with Faith, who left him for a record producer who promised to make her a star. When Lenny reconnects with Faith, he meets Jeriko, a rap star with connections to the city's downtrodden. He comes into possession of a disc that reveals a brutal rape and murder. Realizing that this crime might have political consequences, Nero enlists the help of his best friend Max, a former cop, to help him identify the killer before Faith becomes the next victim.