In 1987, New York City investment banker Patrick Bateman spends most of his time dining at popular restaurants while obsessively maintaining his physical appearance and keeping up a social façade for his fiancée, Evelyn Williams, as well as his circle of wealthy associates, most of whom he hates. At a business meeting, Bateman and his associates flaunt their business cards, obsessing over their designs. Enraged by the superiority of his colleague Paul Allen's card, Bateman finds a homeless man in an alley to whom he initially offers help, before denigrating him, stabbing him, and stomping his dog to death.
At a Christmas party, Bateman makes dinner plans with Allen, who mistakes Bateman for another co-worker. Bateman resents Allen for his affluent lifestyle and ability to obtain reservations at Dorsia, a highly exclusive restaurant which Bateman cannot get into. Allen has dinner with Bateman, mistaking him
