Grimm (Bill Murray), a burnt-out New Yorker, has devised an ingenious plan to escape the city he hates so much; dressed as a clown, he robs a Manhattan bank and cleverly escapes disguised as a hostage along with his accomplices, girlfriend Phyllis and best friend Loomis. However, whilst robbing the bank was comparatively straight-forward and easy, the getaway quickly turns into a nightmare, as the relatively simple act of getting to the airport to catch a flight becomes a tangled ordeal of obstructions, including confused roadworkers, conmen, mobsters, bureaucratic bus-drivers and a cabbie who doesn't speak a word of English. And all the while Rotzinger, the equally world-weary but relentless Chief of Police, is doggedly on their tail.