The film presents a non-linear narrative, but to clarify the story, this summary is structured in chronological order.
In 1970, in Davie, Florida, Linda Boreman and her friend Patsy enjoy a fun outing by roller skating. Their lively dancing captures the attention of Chuck Traynor. This encounter leads to a budding relationship between Linda and Chuck. After a few weeks, Linda warmly invites Chuck Traynor over for dinner with her parents, where he impresses them with his charming demeanor. However, as Linda repeatedly breaks curfew, she ultimately decides to leave her strict, religious household to marry Chuck.
At a party later on, Linda experiences Chuck's world when she watches one of his homemade adult films for the first time. Fast forward six months, Linda finds herself bailing Chuck Traynor out of jail, after he faces charges for soliciting prostitution. Desperate for money, Chuck forces Linda into prostitution at gunpoint. Soon after, he has her audition for B&A Films in New York City, where he reveals a private 8mm film showcasing her performing oral sex, which helps her secure a role.
Linda returns to Florida where she begins shooting the infamous film Deep Throat, adopting the stage name Linda Lovelace. Upon its release in 1972, the film becomes a sensational hit, grossing over $30,000 in its opening week. After a private screening in Los Angeles, Hugh Hefner encourages Linda to pursue greater opportunities, but her freedom is fleeting as Chuck once again coerces her into participating in a gang bang at a hotel, using his weapon as leverage.
The following day, Linda clandestinely meets Anthony Romano and expresses her desire to exit the adult film industry, revealing the bruises left by Chuck’s abuse. Moved by her plight, Romano intervenes and arranges for Linda to stay in a hotel while he and his team deal with Chuck for both the physical abuse and the outstanding production costs he failed to pay.
Years later, after her tumultuous marriage to Chuck, Linda marries Larry Marchiano and settles in Long Island, where the couple welcomes a son. Prior to publishing her autobiography Ordeal, Linda takes a polygraph test, revealing the extensive physical and emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of Chuck. She bravely appears on Donahue, sharing her story, which brings her parents to tears as they watch her from home. Shortly thereafter, the Marcianos travel back to Florida so Linda can mend her relationship with her parents.
The film concludes with impactful captions that illustrate the harsh reality of Linda's experiences: despite Deep Throat grossing over $600 million globally, Linda herself earned merely $1,250. Her book Ordeal quickly sold out through three printings, making Linda an outspoken advocate against pornography and domestic violence for the next 20 years. It's worth noting that Chuck later married Marilyn Chambers, and Linda tragically passed away in a car accident at the age of 53 in 2002, just three months before Chuck succumbed to a heart attack.
