Smoke tells the story of three days in the life of a young gay named Michael who lives in New York City. He is an alienated loner with a penchant for older men. He works as a bathroom attendant in a fancy hotel, often fantasising about the men who come in. His current boyfriend is an unapproachable married detective who Michael pursues almost obsessively but never seems to catch up with. In turn, Michael has an ex-boyfriend a mafia-type he jilted who bullies and intimidates him throughout the film. In black and white flashbacks we find out that Michael has a twin brother (not identical). When they were little boys they had a high fever which left his brother with minimal brain damage and Michael with a bad heart. Soon after their illness their father abandoned the family, leaving their mother bitter and cut off from the world. When Michael’s mother finds out her estranged husband has a girlfriend, she shuts herself off from her children as well, leaving them emotional orphans.The bulk of the story takes place in the present. Michael and his brother’s birthday is coming up and he has to make the dreaded trip out to the country to celebrate it with his adoring, child-like brother. The day before, Michael is shot in a random event by a disturbed young woman while sitting in a church for the first time in many years. He only has a flesh wound, but the trauma causes his fever to soar, leading him to have hallucinations.
