When Ira Fishblatt's girlfriend, Ruth Grubstein, moves into his appartment, he cleans up his act and his kitchen much to the repulsion of the hoards of cockroaches who also inhabit his flat. This grubby army who, up until now, had happily existed on the food debris littering his flat, now face a harsh future: eviction or death from starvation. Driven into a frenzy by their dark fate, a leader cockroach, Numbers, devises a diabolical plan which will forever rid them of Ruth and her damnable tidiness. Enlisting the unwitting help of Rufus, the local cocaine dealer, Elizabeth and his hot-blooded ex-girlfriend, the Gypsy, they act out a masterplan to save their home'and their lives.