Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (Bill Murray) is a journalist in a cabin who wants to write about his lawyer, Carl Lazlo (Peter Boyle). He starts typing the story, and then his past is shown, when he met Lazlo back in the 1960s when Thompson was in a hospital due to paranoia and substance abuse. The two men visit a courthouse where Lazlo tries to defend youngsters against drug charges. Thompson’s publisher, Marty (Bruno Kirby), wants this story. Lazlo gets out of the attorney business. Thompson is supposed to cover a Super Bowl game but turns his hotel room into a room full of alcohol and drugs. Lazlo comes back into his life and says he’s trying to change the world by giving weapons to poor countries. Thompson gets on a press plane when Nixon is running for office and is forced to get on another plane, where he takes hallucinogens. Lazlo appears once again and chaos ensues; then it’s back to the cabin in the present day.