A native New Yorker Rachel Chu accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick Young, to his best friend's wedding in Singapore. Excited about visiting Asia for the first time but nervous about meeting Nick's family, Rachel is unprepared to learn that Nick has neglected to mention a few key details about his life. It turns out that he is not only the scion of one of the country's wealthiest families but also one of its most sought-after bachelors.

Two twenty-something stoner roommates, one a Korean-American investment banker, Harold, and the other an Indian-American medical school candidate, Kumar, go through a life-changing journey. They are on a quest to satisfy their cravings for burgers and spend the night roaming the state of New Jersey in search of White Castle hamburgers and running into one screwy obstacle after another.