Mike O'Donahue (Jack Byrne) is a San Francisco cab driver and aspiring writer whose life is complicated by a once-in-a-lifetime meeting with his hero, Irish writer Padric Reilly (John Molloy). He picks up Padric in his cab, but when it becomes clear that the writer is a drunk who doesn't have money for his fare, Mike decides to take him home and look after him. His El Salvadorian girlfriend Maria Montoya (Theresa Saldana) is less than pleased by this development. Padric proceeds to sponge off Mike while being treated as a celebrity at the local Irish pub. Maria discovers she's pregnant, which upsets Mike, but not as much as the fact that Padric has ridiculed his short stories down at the saloon. There's quite a bit of humor in Of Men and Angels, but as the story moves towards its conclusion it becomes increasingly downbeat and pessimistic.