The action in the vignettes takes place at the same time, moving from Los Angeles in the United States to Helsinki, Finland.

Jarmusch wrote the screenplay in about eight days, and the choice of certain cities was largely based on the actors with whom he wanted to work.

Helmut, an immigrant from East Germany who was a clown in his home country, has found work as a taxi driver.

Increasingly alarmed at Helmut's inability to handle an automatic transmission, ignorance of New York geography, and feeble command of the English language, YoYo takes over the wheel.

During the drive, YoYo sees his sister-in-law Angela on the street and forces her into the cab to take her back home.

At night, a cab picks up two drunk African diplomats, who mock the lowly driver and find it hilarious that he is from the Ivory Coast.

So much so that, after dropping her off, he watches her walk beside a canal in the dark and he drives into another car, whose driver angrily accuses him of being blind.

After an evening spent drinking heavily, three workers, one of whom has just been fired from his job and has passed out, climb into a cab to return home.

On the way, the two conscious workers talk about the terrible situation their unconscious friend is in, being out of work and having to face a divorce and a pregnant daughter.