Set in an alternate-universe fictional location of Atlantic-Cité, "Made in USA" is a typically oblique Godardian blend of political intrigue and self-referential humour in the guise of a nominal thriller plot. Paula Nelson (Anna Karina), a female version of Humphrey Bogart's hard boiled detective, is a journalist who has been covering the war in Morocco and has just returned to Atlantic-Cité. She has received a telegram from her one-time fiancé, Richard, but when she arrives there she finds that he has been killed. Following various leads, while under surveillance herself by the police and other mysterious figures, she attempts to find out who killed Richard. Meanwhile we must try and understand what she discovers......