Two ne'er-do-well middle-class Phoenix, Arizona high school students, Oliver Cromwell Oglivie ("O.C.") and Mark Stiggs, spend their days slacking off and committing pranks and outright crimes targeting their nemeses, the wealthy and conservative Schwab family. Disgusted with the culture of suburban consumerism, they embark on a revenge plot against Randall Schwab, patriarch of the affluent family who unwittingly committed O.C.'s grandfather to a group home. The film's frame story follows O.C. and Stiggs' ultimate plan, which involves sabotage, mayhem, and chaos, leading to a confrontation with Randall that ends in an underground gunfight. Ultimately, the two outcasts emerge victorious, earning a payout from a successful fashion line and driving triumphantly through the streets of suburban Phoenix.