When handsome young comic book creator Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck) meets cute young comic book creator Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), romance seems preordained. But Holden is soon confronted with Alyssa's complex sexual history, as well as his friend and colleague Banky's (Jason Lee) conflicted and enraged response to the affair. Despite the seriousness of the issues, director Kevin Smith keeps the laughs coming, even as Holden goes through hell and grows up.