Elliot Richards (Brendan Fraser) is a loser with a dead end job. Elliot has a crush on a girl, but in unsuccessful in attempts to develop a relationship. He wishes she were his, and the Devil (Elizabeth Hurley) hears him make the wish. She convinces him to sign a contract exchanging seven wishes for his soul. Elliot begins making wishes, but each of the wishes comes true in a way that makes him unhappy, as any deal with the devil turns out. After each wish is unsuccessful in making him happy, Elliot must take the wish back, and the Devil explains he needs to be more specific. After searching for help from the church, and being hauled off to jail, he eventually decides to find his way out of the contract. Elliot begins to regards the Devil as a friend, and not as an evil being, and learns to take control of his own life in the end.