Michael J. Fox stars in this comedy drama. Brantley Foster (Fox) comes to the big city from Kansas to work in the post room of his uncle's multi-million dollar corporation. He uses his ingenuity to propel himself up the corporate ladder and pick up on a number of corporate secrets. On his dramatic climb through the ranks he falls in love with a fellow executive (Helen Slater) who is having an affair with the boss. Meanwhile, the boss's wife has taken a bit of a shine to young Brantley...

Warren Beatty's adaptation of the detective comic strip displays a big-screen comic book look of its own. In a 1930s American city, Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino) takes a stranglehold on all underworld activities, disposing of his main rival Lips Manlis (Paul Sorvino) and nabbing his girlfriend Breathless Mahoney (Madonna). Dick Tracy (Beatty) is entrusted with the task of cleaning up the city, but problems on the home front, with the adoption of a young orphan, and the seductive come-ons of Breathless threaten to ruffle his composure.