billy halleck is an obese, upper class lawyer living with his wife heidi and their daughter linda. billy recently defended an underworld crime boss named richie "the hammer" ginelli in court and is now celebrating his acquittal on a murder charge. heidi, in an attempt to persuade him to forget about his obsession with food, attempts to give billy oral sex as he is driving. distracted, billy accidentally runs over a gypsy named suzanne lempke. he is acquitted in the subsequent proceedings by his friend judge cary rossington. the local police chief duncan hopley also obstructs the case by committing perjury for billy. outraged by the injustice, suzanne's father, tadzu lempke, places a curse on billy on the steps of the courthouse by touching his face and uttering "thinner". soon afterward, billy begins to lose weight rapidly, despite not working out or sticking to his diet. heidi, fearing the weight loss may be due to cancer, calls dr. mike houston, with whom billy soon begins to suspect his wife is having an affair.