Trevor is a frustrated painter who suffers from inspiration depletion (i.e. artist block). Unable to create, he takes a commission and goes against his artistic principles. After bumping into a strange, bowler-hatted man, he finds that the man has left his wallet on the ground. Trevor takes it. He meets Karen and they go out on a date. They hit it off until the wallet starts to change him. He uncharacteristically tells Karen about his fears of failure. She gets scared off and leaves. Trevor paints the commission, and transforms from a young-punk-Lower-East-Side painter to a conservative, young born-again. Mortified, Trevor seeks out the bowler-hatted man for advice, but finds only riddles concerning a man called Floyd, who was the original owner of the wallet (which gives its owners exactly what they want, but not what they need). Confused and lost, Trevor finds himself in the gutter, alone. He gets some advice from a homeless man (who ends up being Floyd). Trevor realizes that the answer to his problems, his artistic block, his identity and his happiness is Karen, the girl he scared off. Trevor gives Floyd back his wallet. Trevor is transformed to his original punk self, and with a renewed sense of purpose, tracks down Karen, who now recognizes that the tortured artist is now at peace. Later on, Trevor has sold a portrait of Karen and celebrates by dancing with her, the two of them very much in love.