After escaping slavery on another planet, a three-toed alien (Joe Morton) crashes on Ellis Island and makes his way to Harlem. Assumed to be a homeless black man, the alien fits right into the multicultural swath of New York City, especially since he can fix both broken bones and broken machines just by touching them. Meanwhile, two men in black with unusual gaits and a fondness for Dragnet-style dialogue prowl the streets of Harlem looking for the alien. As the alien moves up and down New York City’s social stratum, filmmaker John Sayles exposes both the overarching structure of corruption and oppression and the minor triumphs of the city’s poorer residents.