Remy is a medical student who has a flair for making his patients comfortable. His genuine concern for the patients in his charge marks him as a hot prospect in his internship program. Pamela works at a children's book publishing company. The two meet via Pamela's brother, who is also Remy's good friend. They fall in love and get an apartment in the East Village of New York. Soon after, the couple begins to indulge in speed and barbiturates. They become heavily addicted. Remy is thrown out of medical school and Pamela quits her job. Remy soon finds himself in debt with the local dealer, Stutter, who introduces his customer to heroin as a revenge for his late bill. Pamela faces the prospect of getting sober at her brother's clinic, but must leave behind a destitute Remy in order to do it.

During their first year of internship at New North Hospital, a group of aspiring doctors undergo both personal and professional upheavals.

Emergency medicine intern Margaux can no longer stand it. During another very hectic and patient-filled shift, she forgets a homeless woman on a stretcher who then dies. Shocked Margaux has no choice but to continue working. But suddenly, her body starts sweating blood uncontrollably.