Dhalgren is the story of the Kid, a nameless wanderer in a post-apocalyptic world. The bulk of the Kid's journey is concerned with reaching and exploring the city of Bellona, a metropolis afflicted with power outages, fires, looting, gang warfare, and infectious boredom and insanity. The novel's plot is largely a series of random events and culminates in an apparent psychotic break on the Kid's part, the narrative devolving into incoherence.