In 1979, Maiken Trouble is one of the most popular shows on television and no one is happier about it than Billy Fox, the show's dashing star. After a string of moderately successful films and a five-season run in a top-rated television series, he is at the top of his game. Strangers stop him in the street to get his autograph; his struggling confrères, most of whom, it seems, spend more time waiting tables than acting, admire and envy his success, and regularly enlist his help and advice; beautiful women throw themselves at him. One woman, in fact, has just done so: a super-model who goes only by the name Selena. Instantly smitten, Billy invites her to move into his loft.
After Lorenzo Larson "sprains his ankle" (the standard industry euphemism for "enters rehab"), Billy is brought in to replace the ailing action hero in Alpha Force III. The shooting schedule fits nicely into his show's hiatus, and it offers a timely opportunity for Billy to get himself back on the big screen. On location, away from Selena, Billy seduces first a young script assistant and then his female co-star, without suffering much guilt. Nor does he feel badly after he drunkenly picks a fight with the director. As the film wraps, Billy learns that his television show has just been canceled. Thus begins his long slide into obscurity.
