In the quaint residence of Susan, a middle-aged woman living in the heart of rural America, a creative spark comes to life through her love for collage artistry. Her small apartment showcases an eclectic mix of vibrant collages crafted from magazine clippings, reflecting her artistic spirit. However, with a tight budget dictating her choices, Susan resorts to somewhat dubious methods, often pilfering magazines from her neighbor's mailboxes to fuel her passion.
A fateful morning finds Susan rising late, her finger repeatedly pressing the snooze button. Captivated by a pair of eye-catching cowboy boots featured on a television program, she feels an intense yearning that propels her into the world outside her apartment. Just before she leaves, her neighbor, Leon, who uses crutches, tries to share a joke with her, but she brushes him off, eager to visit the florist.
As she moves through her day, a phone call from her brother, Cameron, serves as a reminder of their mother’s upcoming birthday. When she asks him to write her name on the gift, he declines, which only fuels her determination. At the gym, she reconnects with her close friend, Corrin, sharing alluring snapshots of the coveted boots.
Their workout is interrupted by the charming Phil, who seems taken with Susan, though her friend points out Susan's obliviousness to his romantic intentions. Meanwhile, with financial burdens weighing heavily on her, Susan turns to her mother, Mary, for a loan, which she reluctantly grants, allowing Susan a shopping spree at Kmart where she finally treats herself to the cowboy boots.
At Kmart, fate brings her nose-to-nose with Velvet, an old high school rival. Their encounter spirals into a competition where each one tries to one-up the other with exaggerated claims about their lives, leaving Susan engulfed in guilt over her fabrications.
Returning home, she discovers her laundry, once left at the laundromat, neatly folded and delivered with a thoughtful note. As her family gathers for her mother’s birthday, Susan gradually feels alienated, particularly when Cameron announces an exciting trip to Niagara Falls that excludes her unless she pays her own way. Anguished, she storms out, feeling diminished and belittled.
Later, Susan has a run-in with Phil, who rear-ends her car but ends up becoming a beacon of light amidst her struggles. Their flirtation ignites a spark of hope, and he promises to come over to discuss the car damage. The night then sees Corrin and Susan preparing for a cover performance of "Blister in the Sun" while Phil's visit turns romantic, brimming with laughter over dinner at a trampoline park. Just as their connection appears to deepen, a bout of food poisoning throws a wrench in Susan’s joyful evening.
As Phil showers her with gifts and affection, their relationship reaches a turning point when Susan enters a challenging social scenario involving Velvet. The competitive spirit returns as Susan proudly touts Phil as her boyfriend to Velvet, but when she invites him to a family event, tension arises when he is a no-show. A series of texts reveals an unpleasant truth: Phil has a wife and children, throwing Susan into a whirlwind of heartbreak.
Finding support in Corrin as they prepare for a talent show, Susan’s spirits begin to lift through their shared music. Yet, desperation sets in when she cashes in a necklace for a ticket to Niagara Falls. She arrives at the tourist destination only to find navigating home becomes more challenging than anticipated, resulting in feelings of despair.
As the talent show approaches, a billboard advertising Phil's trampoline park becomes a focus of her frustrations. In a moment of reckless passion, she vandalizes it, leading to a shocking arrest that brings the attention of Velvet, who later anonymously bails her out. Yet disaster looms as she faces eviction, only to learn that Leon has been secretly looking out for her all along by doing her laundry.
A chance hospital visit for Leon leads to a confrontation with Cameron, making Susan reflect on her own neglect of relationships. In a quest to reclaim her life, Susan takes small steps toward self-improvement, engaging with her community and confronting her past.
As her journey unfolds, she encounters Velvet again, who offers her a job at Kmart, marking a turning point in Susan's life. Armed with newfound confidence and determination, she steps onto the path toward self-discovery—undaunted, even when her car won't start as she embarks on her first day of work, exclaiming “Seriously?” amidst the beautiful chaos of everyday life.
