American Idiot tells a story about a teenage drug user, who is possibly named Jimmy but is referred to as " the Jesus of Suburbia". Jesus lives in a unnamed city suburb called Jingletown. Frustrated with life in Jingletown, he eventually leaves with a dedicated group of followers known as the Underbelly of Society, which he renames the Lost and Found, and they move to "the big city", where Jesus adopts the alias "St. Jimmy". Slowly, Jesus and Jimmy become split personalities.
One night, Jesus meets a woman whose name is never stated, and is referred to as Whatsername. They quickly fall in love, but Whatsername becomes angry at Jesus' loss of idealism and his unwillingness to cause change. When the Lost and Found causes a riot, which includes setting a large fire, Whatsername can stand it no longer and leaves him. Jesus attempts to remain a figurehead for the Lost and Found, but the loss of Whatsername affects him deeply.
After several months, Jesus "kills off" Jimmy in his mind and he eventually snaps into conformity and gets a job, abandoning the Underbelly forever. He begins a mostly normal life but still misses Whatsername and even begins missing Jingletown, where he eventually returns. He never completely gets over Whatsername