Shakes plods about his duties as party clown, and uses all of his free time getting seriously drunk. Binky, another clown, wins the spot on a local kiddie show, which depresses Shakes even more, and his boss threatens him with unemployment if he can't get his act under control.

Joni gets persuaded to enter a bikini contest by her friends and likes the attention. She talks to another contestant, Harlow, who suggests she try exotic dancing at Kandyland, where she works. Joni gets fed up with her job at the dry cleaner's, and boyfriend Frank won't commit, so she gets a job at Kandyland. She finds others doing drugs and getting abused, and tries to make her new job, her lingering attraction to Frank, and her strong friendship with Harlow coexist.

Twenty years after the disappearance of Izzy Lyon, the World's Greatest Sign Spinner, a group of devoted followers band together to restore his legacy.