Jesse Lujack (Richard Gere) is a cocky, nihilistic drifter in Las Vegas, Nevada, obsessed with Marvel Comics ''Silver Surfer'' comic books, the rock and roll music of Jerry Lee Lewis, and Monica Poiccard (Valérie Kaprisky), a UCLA architecture undergraduate whom he knows only from a weekend fling in Vegas. As the film opens late at night, he steals a Porsche, intending to drive to Los Angeles. As he speeds down the highway and looks through the owner's possessions, he discovers a handgun in the vehicle's glovebox. Seeing his reckless driving, a policeman gives chase and Jesse is forced off the road and becomes stuck. When the policeman orders him to step away from the car, Lujack impulsively grabs the gun and shoots the officer. Fleeing to Los Angeles, Lujack finds his picture splashed all over the newspaper and TV news as the "cop killer."