Misanthropic Dr. John Becker runs a clinic in New York City. He is assisted by super-capable Margaret Wyborn and less-than-capable Linda, who's only kept on because no one else can stand the doctor. Becker's best (some would say only) friend is the blind Jake Malinak, who runs a newsstand in the diner across the street. The diner used to be run by Reggie Kostas, but it has been taken over by Chris Conner, a lady whom Becker fluctuates between loathing and being attracted to. The diner is also frequented by Robert Benito, who is universally known as Bob and is the super at Becker's apartment (much to the doctor's regret).

Yonkers Joe hustles, setting up schemes to cheat at cards and dice. He has a girlfriend, Janice, but does he care about her or just need a partner in his cons? He's working out a scam of casinos, gathering intelligence in Atlantic City. The fly in the ointment is his son, Joe Jr., a mentally-challenged young man about to turn 21, aging out of a group home, belligerent as the move to an adult home and his father's lack of contact upset him. Joe Jr.'s counselor insists that Joe take his son for awhile to calm him down and prepare him for the transfer. Can a mentally-challenged, unloved kid make his way with grifters? Can a father discover new emotions? What about scamming the casinos?

In Las Vegas, Huck Cheever is a poker player, brilliant but also prone to let emotion take over. It's the week of the poker world series, and Huck must come up with the $10,000 entry fee, which he wins, loses, borrows, and loses - and even steals part of from Billie Offer, an earnest young woman who's new in town and who catches Huck's eye. By the time the tournament starts, Huck owes everyone. Complicating things is the arrival of Huck's father, whom Huck detests for having left his mother, a champion player in town to win. Can Huck learn to play poker the way he lives and to live the way he plays poker? Or is his only flush the sound of his life going down the toilet?