Stars at Noon

Trish is stranded in Nicaragua during the COVID-19 pandemic, with her passport confiscated and a flophouse stay funded by a sympathetic cabinet minister. She continues her dangerous reporting on extrajudicial killings, which has alienated both her editors and the ruling party, leaving her increasingly exposed. The political crisis around her makes everyday survival feel precarious.

She solicits sex from a British man named Daniel in a hotel reserved for wealthy foreigners, believing him to be an intelligence agent. They share a passionate, intimate encounter, and Trish follows him the next day, hoping for answers or escape. The setup establishes a dangerous alliance built on desire and uncertainty.

Trish observes Daniel meeting with a man she identifies as a Costa Rican police officer. When questioned about the meeting, Daniel is surprised to learn of the officer's true identity, and they are soon chased through a bustling market as danger closes in. The encounter reveals that Daniel's motives may be compromised and that Trish may be in greater peril than she realized.

The Costa Rican officer tracks them to the flophouse, but cannot attack inside a building protected by a governmental official. Daniel hides while Trish negotiates survival within the deteriorating political climate. They realize they need to move and protect their fragile bond.

Despite the danger, Trish and Daniel fall in love. Their bond deepens through intimate moments, culminating in a deserted nightclub where they dance and Daniel speaks softly about his wife. The scene crystallizes their emotional connection amid political chaos.

Trish learns that the government can no longer protect her, and both money and Daniel's employment are slipping away. With nowhere to turn, they decide to flee toward the border, aware that leaving the hotel could doom them. They steal a car to begin their perilous journey northward.

On the road, a man who appears to be a CIA agent offers Trish safe passage to the U.S. in exchange for Daniel, but she refuses the deal. The prospect of outside rescue underscores the intersecting games of power surrounding them. The tension between trust and exploitation grows.

At the border, the agent again offers a deal, questioning how they will cross without Trish's passport. It becomes clear that the agent and the Costa Rican officer are colluding with the authoritarian government, while Daniel's actions seem aimed at destabilizing it. Trish must weigh personal safety against the risks of choosing a dangerous alliance.

They trade the car for a boat ride across the border, hoping to avoid capture. Unseen soldiers shoot the smugglers, and Daniel is wounded in the ambush. The couple continues toward safety, but the threat of arrest and death looms.

They reach an abandoned church and fall asleep, only to awaken to a siege. The agent and the Costa Rican officer, with armed troops, have surrounded them. Daniel convinces Trish to abandon him, and soldiers take him away.

A Nicaraguan police officer, a former client of Trish, returns her passport, enabling her to fly home legally. The government agent pays her and leaves, leaving Trish to process what has happened. She ends up sitting alone in another hotel, awaiting her next move.