Set in 1930s Hollywood, a young and hopeful art director named Tod Hackett arrives in Los Angeles with ambitions of making it in the film industry. He becomes infatuated with Faye Greener, an aspiring actress, who lives in his apartment complex. Faye dreams of fame and fortune but is caught in a dire financial situation. Her father, Harry Greener, an aging vaudeville performer, is struggling to make ends meet selling novelty items door-to-door. As Tod becomes more entangled in their lives, he is introduced to a disenchanted crowd on the fringes of the Hollywood dream: the neglected and the desperate who flock to Tinseltown seeking better lives.

Among this group is Homer Simpson, a lonely and awkward Midwestern transplant who is helplessly in love with Faye. As Tod observes these characters around him, his sense of reality becomes interwoven with his artistic visions and growing cynicism. Through the lens of Tod's experiences, the harsh realities of a city that promises so much yet delivers so little begin to unveil themselves. The glamour and glitz hide an unsettling darkness, reaching a crescendo in both Tod’s personal life and the wider community. Aspiration gives way to despair, revealing the ruthless side of fame and ambition that underlies the Hollywood façade and draws predators from every direction. Tensions build as the undercurrent of frustration among the city's disenfranchised seeks release.