The loss of his successful career as a movie director has driven B. J. Lang mad. After Lang rides a freight elevator to the top of an abandoned studio warehouse, his fevered mind imagines that the dusty old props have come to life and that the mannequins are his former stars, come to beg him for a role in his current production of Cyrano de Bergerac . He recalls in particular a former lover and movie star named Carlotta, who appears to him as an older, naked dancer. After working himself into a frenzy as he “directs” a scene, the sound of a woman crying calms him, and he looks behind a curtain, where he has imprisoned a young ingénue and tied her to a wheelchair. Calling her Carlotta, he soothes her and she repeats that she is starving. Finally, he feeds her water and baby food, and schools her how to perform her role as “Roxanne.” Frightened that he will disappear and leave her to die, she attempts to placate him, to no avail. After a brief imitation of silent-film comedian Charlie Chaplin aimed at entertaining her, he returns in drag but, stating that he knows he is hurting her, wipes off the makeup and prepares to finish the film. Soon dressed as Cyrano with a fake nose, Lang forces his “Carlotta” to act out the balcony scene. Mechanically, she recites the line “There is a jungle here in the garden tonight; even the moon seems strange and dangerous.” He directs her calmly, despite her horror, and when she tells him she is afraid, he lectures her about how to use her fear in her acting. Alternately calm and crazed, he hears the roar of a crowd and then imagines himself at an orgy, which includes a baby, at which he is being celebrated. Screaming about love, he finds himself back in the warehouse, where Carlotta calmly acts for him. As he sets up the dueling scene, Lang collapses. Carlotta, afraid that he will die and abandon her, screams at him that he is only pretending and taunts him that although he thinks he is a great actor, she is the one who can act. He begs for his pills, but her bound hands cannot reach them. He struggles to cut her bonds, and as soon as she is free, she sobs with relief and kicks him, but then holds him. When she kneels down beside him, he reveals that he has been acting and holds her down, forcing her to say she loves him. Carlotta breaks free and runs down a seemingly endless corridor, but he chases her with his sword in hand. She climbs into the rafters and through racks of costumes, then is caught by a drunken old man, Charlie, who has sought protection from the rain inside the warehouse and now promises not to hurt her. Lang finds them and recites lines from the duel scene, prompting Charlie to compliment his acting until Lang approaches him with his sword drawn. As Charlie tries to get away, Lang stabs him to death and Carlotta runs in terror. In Lang's demented mind, she dances with a classical quartet playing among racks of beef, then wanders, dazed. Lang catches her and demands she love him, then allows her to flee but follows her. After a few moments trapped in the elevator, she races outside in the driving rain to her car and leans on the horn as he circles the vehicle. Finally, Lang smashes the window open with a garbage can and drags her back upstairs. There, he asks her how it feels to be adored with something close to madness, “which is what new love always is,” and states that he knows he is mad. She bursts out laughing, causing him to shrink away in fear. Soon, he hears other voices joining her in mocking him and begs her to stop. Reciting lines from the play, Lang stabs himself. As he dies, Carlotta reassures him that he is receiving applause and lies down next to him. Hearing the applause, she begins to curtsy, thrilled.