Tony Manero is a Brooklyn paint-store clerk who’d give anything to break out of his dead-end existence. In life, Tony is a peasant; on the disco dance floor, he’s a king. As the soundtrack plays one Bee Gees hit after another, white-suited Tony struts his stuff amidst flashing lights and sweaty, undulating bodies. Tony’s class aspirations are mirrored in his relationship with his dance partner, a secretary eager to move into the glamorous world of Manhattan.

A struggling comic resorts to extreme measures to prevent his party-girl ex-wife from gaining custody of their young son.