East Village, NYC, 1990. Gabriel Grey, celebrity illusionist and modern-day Houdini, abandons his fame and holes up in a dilapidated squat with Billy Bane, a guttersnipe daredevil. Together they hustle a living by performing escape stunts in back alleys and underground fetish clubs. Sleepless and broken-hearted, Gabriel chases oblivion with drink and sexual intrigues. And Billy finds himself stalked by a lonely 8th Avenue peepshow girl who just might save him from himself.—Michael Laurence