Wallace Avery is disillusioned with his failed marriage and unfulfilling job. In a bid for a fresh start, he fakes his own death and assumes a new identity as Arthur Newman. With his past seemingly behind him, Arthur sets out on a road trip to Indiana, where he hopes to reinvent himself as a golf pro at a small country club. The journey represents not just a physical move to a new place but a chance to leave his old self and regrets behind, embracing the possibility of beginning again without the burdens of his previous life.

Along the way, Arthur encounters Mike, a young woman with a troubled history of her own. She quickly discovers his secret and decides to join him on his journey. Together, they embark on a series of adventures, breaking into empty homes to briefly inhabit the lives of the absent residents. These escapades give them fleeting tastes of new identities and experiences, allowing them to experiment with aspects of life they've both missed out on. Their partnership brings them closer, offering a mutual understanding and support that they've both been desperately seeking. However, as they delve deeper into this game of pretense, they start to realize the complexities of escaping their pasts.