 Pills and heroin offer fulfillment of the dreams of four residents of Brooklyn s Brighton Beach in the shadow of a crumbling Coney Island amusement park. Sara dreams of appearing on television wearing a red dress that s a bit snug. So she starts a diet assisted by uppers. Her son Harry, his girlfriend Marion, and his best friend Tyrone pin their hopes for money on moving up from pushing nickel bags of heroin to buying in bulk. They also deal to support their growing habits. Things are going well: Harry buys his mom a new TV, she s losing weight, she has status among her friends, Tyrone s girlfriend is cool, and the team has money in a shoe box. These dreams are addictive.