UCLA college student Jonathan Moore (Anthony Edwards) is playing a game called "Gotcha" (popular on mid-1980s college campuses as "Assassin (game)" or "Tag"), wherein the players are all assigned a mock "hit" on another player by use of a harmless paintball gun. Moore and his apartment roommate Manolo go on a vacation to Paris, France. After touring some of Paris, in a cafe Moore meets Sasha Banicek (Linda Fiorentino), a Czechoslovakian girl. Eventually, Jonathan has sex with Sasha, losing his virginity.