Jeffrey has nowhere to go when his sugar–daddy boyfriend, Bill, croaks. But before Jeffrey sets off into the glare of LA, he grabs a few parting mementos: two grand in cash; a handgun; Bill's police badge; a wild assortment of drugs; and a film canister that contains a treasure greater than all the rest combined: a reel featuring Steve McQueen, Mama Cass, Yul Brynner, and Sharon Tate in a never–before–seen, drug–fueled orgy.
Randal is the fallen scion of a great Hollywood family. His drug addiction and his rehab bills have been long overlooked by his indulgent father; however, with him now dead and gone, Randal's left to the zealous sanctimony of his younger brother who has admitted him to Clean and Serene, a celebrity treatment center run by TV personality Dr. Mike; which is where Randal meets Jeffrey.
Together, the new friends scramble to unload the sex tape before their pasts, and a killer, catch up with them. Populated by the unmistakable denizens of LA, Tony O'Neill's Sick City rollicks in the absurdities of celebrity culture, entertains from first to last, and reads as if Elmore Leonard co–opted the métier of Irvine Welsh.
