This musical is based on four short stories by Damon Runyon. In one tale, gambler Feet Samuels (Randy Quaid) sells his body to science just as he realizes that Hortense Hathaway (Madonna) loves him and that he would rather live than die. In another story, Harriet MacKyle's (Julie Hagerty's) parrot is killed, and she has problems dealing with her loss. Then, there is a gambler, "Regret" (Matt Dillon), who has bloodhounds on his trail when he becomes a murder suspect. Finally, "The Brain" (Rutger Hauer) is bleeding profusely, and his friends search for a way to save his life through a blood transfusion.