Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy), the son of King Jaff Joff (James Earl Jones) of the African Kingdom of Zamunda, meets the princess chosen by his parents when he was 21 years old. Disappointed, he leaves for the United States with his servant Semi (played by Arsenio Hall) to find a partner. Prince Akeem, who visits New York in search of love, volunteers to live a lower-class life and spends several days in the slums in order to find a woman who will love him for who he is.


He meets Lisa (Shari Headley), who confidently expresses her opinions at a black meeting. We meet. Akeem, who has developed a crush on her, gets a job as a maid at the hamburger restaurant run by her father, Mr. McDowell (played by John Amos), and begins a hilarious courtship campaign against her.