Bill Kincaid (Edward Norton) is lecturing his class at Brown University about Plato's Socratic dialogues. Meanwhile, Bill's identical twin brother Brady Kincaid (also played by Edward Norton) is living in Oklahoma, growing and selling hydroponic cannabis. Brady is under pressure from local drug lord Pug Rothbaum (Richard Dreyfuss) to expand his sales. Despite needing money to repay a debt to Rothbaum, Brady refuses.