Maddie Wirtz, Hedy Burress, is a high school senior living on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon, planning to glide through her final year before college. Her routine quiets down when she crosses paths with Legs, Angelina Jolie, a mysterious drifter who seeks shelter from a rainstorm inside Maddie’s school. That same day, Legs catalyzes a bold move: she convinces Maddie and fellow students Rita Faldes, Jenny Lewis, and Violet Kahn, Sarah Rosenberg, to stand up to Mr. Buttinger, a teacher accused of harassing Rita and Violet for years. What begins as a confrontation soon spirals into chaos, witnessed by Goldie Goldman, who flees with the trio when the situation turns violent. Later that night, Legs tracks Maddie down to her home using clues from a notebook Maddie had dropped in Mr. Buttinger’s classroom, and spends the night with her, forging an even deeper bond the next morning before school.
At school, the fallout is swift and strict: Maddie, Rita, Violet, and Goldie are suspended for their actions, even as they try to explain the harassment they endured. Disenchanted, the four girls drift away from the rigid school system and discover a derelict house where Legs suggests she can stay. This abandoned place becomes their headquarters, a sanctuary from parental and institutional control, where rebellion takes on a new rhythm. They hatch audacious plans, including breaking into the school to retrieve a piece of Maddie’s art school application that had been denied to her, and Legs marks the moment with a tattoo of a flame on each of them. As their world grows more intense, Legs and Maddie uncover a painful truth: Goldie’s father is abusive to her, a secret that bites at the group’s sense of justice and protection.
The girls’ boldness culminates in a violent, stolen-car incident: they crash a car taken from a group of boys who were on the cusp of raping Maddie in retaliation for the harassment they had witnessed against Mr. Buttinger. The incident lands them in court, and the boys—and one of his girlfriends, Cindy—lie about what happened. Legs is sent to a juvenile facility, and Goldie’s circumstances worsen as she spirals into heroin use. The truth finally emerges when Cindy, moved by guilt, tells the judge what really occurred, leading to Legs’s release and a fragile regrouping among the friends.
When they reunite, the tension shifts again as Goldie’s addiction casts a long shadow. Legs guides Maddie, Rita, and Violet to Goldie’s home, demanding a $10,000 contribution from Goldie’s parents to send Goldie to rehab. The scene grows chaotic when Goldie’s father refuses to cooperate and Legs, in a desperate act, holds him at gunpoint and drags the others to the abandoned house. He is restrained, and the group wrestles with the moral line they are crossing as they try to decide their next move. In the ensuing chaos, Rita accidentally shoots Goldie’s father in the shoulder, forcing a rapid, frightened scramble toward safety and medical help.
Amid the panic, Maddie realizes Legs has vanished. She finds Legs walking along a bridge, contemplating a ride out of town. The two girls stand at a crossroads: Maddie hopes Legs will stay and grow with the rest of the group, while Legs pushes Maddie to join her on the road. In a quiet, resolute moment, they part ways—Legs boards a passing truck, disappearing into the horizon as Maddie watches the vehicle slip away.
In a final voice-over, we learn that Maddie reconnects with her boyfriend, finishes high school, and heads to art school in New York City. She travels the world, stopping at airports and bus terminals alike, a reminder of how far she has come. The other members of the group never see Legs again, but they keep their bond alive, meeting from time to time to reminisce about the path they walked together and the unbreakable sisterhood they formed in the face of youth, danger, and relentless desire for autonomy.
